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Episode 37: OFF-TOPIC: The Empire Yaps Back
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A long time ago… in a windy city, far, far away… Your hosts Andrew Kouba and Nick Sperry jump on to talk about NONE of the things, X-Wing! The off-topic episodes are a semi-frequent addition to the 312 Podcast where your hosts discuss world events, random opinions, and of course, politics. Please be advised that the topics discussed may not be comfortable to hear or align with your own views.
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Transcript
Introduction to Off Topic Edition
00:00:02
Speaker
You are listening to the 312 Squadron Podcast, Off Topic Edition. This is a new format we are piloting here, and I'm joined by my wonderful co-host, Andrew Kuba. Welcome, Andrew.
Purpose of Off Topic Episodes
00:00:15
Speaker
um So Andrew and I had this idea, was really I guess I kind of forced this idea upon Andrew, but he you know was on board with it, of ah ah basically every once in a while recording an episode of the 312 Squadron podcast that isn't just about X-Wing. um you know There's a lot for us to talk about. We always have things to talk about. and you know, we want to be able to have kind of an off speed type ah opportunity for people who enjoy kind of the non X-Wing related stuff that we represent that we'd like to talk about across all of
Frequency of Off Topic Episodes
00:00:49
Speaker
our episodes. And yeah, this is gonna be fun. So I wouldn't expect these to be frequent or all the time. But you know, I think every few standard X-Wing related ah podcast episodes, we'll do it off topic. So This is going to be episode one of our Ops topic. Andrew,
Politics in Discussion
00:01:03
Speaker
what what do you think? You excited to talk about a bunch of stuff?
00:01:05
Speaker
There's a lot of things to talk about. Yeah, right. I mean, you're going get kind of a preview of what Nick and I talk about whenever we get together outside of this. And no, it's always fun. As as much as we love X-Wing, this is kind of ah a nice like palate cleanser for us too.
00:01:22
Speaker
um so I do want to preface to everybody as a disclaimer that the things that we are talking about may be um uncomfortable, may not be aligned with your um beliefs, and are most likely going to be involving politics.
Navigating Political Polarization
00:01:39
Speaker
I understand that nowadays things are so polarizing and there's a lot of issues, a lot of suffering and a lot of division. um And our goal is to not split people apart. But of course, at the same time, I recommend you don't listen to this if you don't want to hear it and you don't have to hear it. So just kind of want to give you that disclaimer. Obviously, our channel 312 Squadron is really a product of our our values and who we are as people.
Beyond X-Wing Discussions
00:02:05
Speaker
X-Wing is not just yeah fundamentally only
00:02:08
Speaker
plastic spaceships and nothing else. But of course, that's why we're doing this separately because we understand that not everyone wants to tune into an X-Wing stream or listen to an X-Wing related podcast and only hear things that are politically related or or or otherwise, right? So just want to give you all a heads up that ah if you don't want to hear it, you don't have to.
00:02:32
Speaker
And you you can still complain about it anyway. So I always enjoy reading the complaints. Yeah, heck yeah. so Yeah.
Hosts' Political Backgrounds
00:02:39
Speaker
Cheers. As we get into political stuff, like I was born and raised in Chicago. Nick grew up in California and moved to Chicago. So, I mean, you can probably just even guess based on that, like where our political leanings are. Not from, I'm not from rural Mississippi, but I really do um value, what I really value is no matter where you're from, um that you are
00:03:02
Speaker
open-minded and willing to to listen and also willing to change your
Issues in Political Discourse
00:03:07
Speaker
mind. um i think it's important nowadays that it's okay to admit that you got it wrong or it's okay to to at least be willing to be wrong, right? I think that's the difference these days is that people have decided that they're they're going to be right about everything and You can see it in discourse, especially in social media, the way people talk, they talk at each other. They're not really talking to each other. And, ah you know, it's just it's just gotten to the point now where it's really disorienting. And it's disheartening at the
Optimism Amid Political Challenges
00:03:39
Speaker
same time. Yeah, for sure. I'm trying to be more, it's gotten so bad, Andrew, that I've gone from being kind of a pessimist to more of an optimist. It's gotten that bad. that I feel like I've been pushed in this new direction where i'm like, ah, like the midterms are coming and like, you know, like we will learn from this and we'll be better. But obviously history has shown that sometimes it's, we're incapable of learning from everything. So, yeah, I mean, yeah.
Power Dynamics: Awareness and Change
00:04:04
Speaker
But I mean, my thoughts and feelings are, I think most people in the country know what's wrong. It's unfortunately, it's just the people who are in positions of power, ah either, either,
00:04:15
Speaker
are unaware or they refuse to do anything different. Yeah. It's, you know, let's, let's get into
US-Iran Conflict and Political Critique
00:04:21
Speaker
it. Right. So the big, big elephant in the room, as I said, before we started the big mutated elephant in the room is that, you know, the United States is now at war with Iran. Holy cow. Right. lands Venezuela first. And now this, I think there's a lot of serious whiplash for, for the world, but especially people in this country. Yeah. Really having to come to terms with the fact that we're kind of just, know,
00:04:44
Speaker
but we don't really, we're not really, nothing really makes sense anymore. were we're in When it comes to a platform that promises about making America great or putting America first, I feel like no matter what, we've only seen foreign interests and billionaires be put first. And this is not just privy to one side of the aisle. um I just think Republicans are a lot more blazing, are really a lot more obvious about it these days. and I think Democrats try to slink behind what kind of a veil when it comes to private and corporate interests.
00:05:18
Speaker
But man, I have to say Venezuela with the oil. All for the oil tech, you know, the the big billionaires. And then now with Iran and the gas prices are going up here. And obviously, I don't care about gas prices as i much as I care about people
Global Leadership and Dangerous Precedents
00:05:32
Speaker
getting killed. I mean, that's I think it's really sick that a lot of people have drawn the line of gas prices to actually maybe stop supporting Trump.
00:05:41
Speaker
ah And it's just I can't really wrap my head around that. Andrew, what are your thoughts? I just said a lot of stuff. It's a lot. No, a thousand percent. and don't know. I'm not going to say that, you know, that Maduro or even that, you know, Khamenei, these are like good administrations. These are good, you know, people or or you know, they're they're dictators.
00:06:00
Speaker
I don't think you want to live in a world where just the leader of a country can just be assassinated or just be kidnapped at will. Because you're setting a precedent that, you know, whoever is the strongest then gets to just dictate like world policy.
Accountability in Political Actions
00:06:13
Speaker
um Not only that, the the backlash that this is going to create, not only internally from like most Americans don't want this war, no one in the globe wants it.
00:06:23
Speaker
The scariest thing is that before under the Bush administration, when they wanted to attack Iraq, they had to really try to fake a story about weapons of mass destruction. Like convince us, right? Yeah. They actually had to make a case. There was some... They had to deceive the American people. Now, the pretext is just gone. It's just...
00:06:51
Speaker
whatever, we're just doing it and you got to live with it. You know, I don't want to it's a sick thing to say, but I don't, you know, I have to give credit. The only credit I can possibly ever give to this administration in the sense that they have, uh, they, they've just full sent everything. And, um,
00:07:09
Speaker
You know, ah they haven't been they haven't been concerned with, you know, polling, which obviously hates it. And they haven't been concerned with the law, which obviously I don't respect that. But there is something to be said about them saying we're going to do all these crazy things. And then they're actually doing almost all of it. And then a lot more. Right. I don't think we're used to that. I think we're used to politicians saying I'm going to do this and this and this for you. And then they try to pass a bill. The bill doesn't pass. And then everyone tries, you know, they forget about it and they hope we forget about it, too. I feel like every day there's something crazy that they're doing and they don't seem to to care about the ah about
US Constitution Stress Test
00:07:45
Speaker
Congress. They don't care about the courts. Most of it's illegal, right? like Most of it is. This is against the Constitution. The war in Iran is acting without congressional approval. like That is against the Constitution. They've already you know launched the... There's tons of laws that are against this administration. And, yeah, I mean, this is like a real stress test of our Constitution.
00:08:07
Speaker
And so you say like, right, it was without congressional approval. But then I almost feel like Congress did end up approving it in retrospect because then the War Powers Resolution failed miserably.
00:08:18
Speaker
And, ah you know, to hone in and rein him back from doing this. And so it's like they they complained about them not being involved. And then they allowed they basically put it to vote and said, we'll just let you keep doing this
Upcoming Midterms as a Political Referendum
00:08:32
Speaker
anyways. Yeah.
00:08:33
Speaker
And I think that's pretty discouraging for sure um because you know I can't believe that um this can't even be bipartisan.
00:08:44
Speaker
This is no anti-war, especially a president who said we're going to end all wars, the whole phony bullshit about being ah a peace president, all that stuff that he keeps pumping out every day and claiming that he is as he starts to get you know multiple wars, kidnaps leaders, all this stuff. And um yeah, they just they have an opportunity to be like, you know what, like this is too much because you it is and then they they vote it down so
Critique of Republican Party's Role
00:09:09
Speaker
that's the stuff that i think is really going to motivate people in the midterms there have been some people who have been primary now and then those who are up for election or re-election i think there's going to be probably one of the most fascinating elections we've had in quite a while oh 100 happening in november a referendum really um against the the complacency and the enabling that honestly both parties have contributed to. But this is largely a Republican part ah problem right now.
00:09:37
Speaker
Well, they're I mean, they're the the party that's in the most power. Yeah,
Complexities of Political Identity
00:09:40
Speaker
exactly. So yeah, and I i don't know about you, Andrew, but like I've been in, I have half my family's conservative and i I try to remind people of this because like, it's not like me sign trying to say like, oh, like I have a black friend, I can't be racist kind of thing. It's but me saying like, I like I have my family's conservative, but i I've grown up spending a lot of time around people who I love, who do see a lot of things differently for me, but they are reasonable.
00:10:03
Speaker
And it's like, it's trying to find the reason. So I compartmentalize We're conservatives and Republicans these days because anyone who says they're a proud Republican, I really want to stay as far away from as possible. I think they're very problematic. And then there are people who have conservative beliefs. I do think
Conservative Values vs. Political Movements
00:10:19
Speaker
there is absolutely a place for that. And honestly, they're not being really represented anymore. that's their That party's been hijacked in ah and a pretty crazy way.
00:10:28
Speaker
um i don't know how you, if you conflate the two or if you see them as the same still. I think there was a time where if you were conservative or Republican, it didn't really It didn't matter semantics, but now I feel like I have to draw a line between the two um because there's a lot of people who are conservative who, ah you know unfortunately, they don't agree with any of this stuff, but that when it comes to vote, I don't think they're voting the way that they probably should. yeah mean Or at least you know vote for somebody else. It could be third party or don't vote at all. That's a vote as well. I don't know.
00:10:57
Speaker
No, I mean, that that's fair. i mean, I'll say I also have a family that is all over the political spectrum. um I would say that the way that the window has has shifted, i think we're seeing a break in the, not even in the Republican Party, but the Republican Party has shifted significantly further right.
00:11:19
Speaker
The MAGA movement is... unique in its own way. I think it's still a minority of the Republican Party, but the the Republican Party itself has just shifted a lot further to the right. I think what what would be considered like conservative under in like the 90s and when like under like George Bush and Bill Clinton, I think a lot of those voters are now basically like that's just the Democratic Party is the Democratic Party kind of have those has those beliefs where they are, you know, ah Socially liberal fiscally conservative, although we're starting to see that change to where you know you'll have candidates like you know Gavin Newsom. um
00:12:01
Speaker
i Start being anti trans Kamala Harris ran under an anti immigration campaign, so we are kind of seeing the Democratic Party become the Republican Party of yesteryear.
00:12:13
Speaker
As for me, like, you know, by my own politics, I'm probably like the most, you know, I have a couple family members, I guess, who are as left wing and my immediate family and probably the most left wing of my family. How would you describe your political leaning? Are you you say you're progressive, democratic, socialist, socialist, communist? Yeah, no, I mean, I would be like a progressive, a democratic socialist.
00:12:34
Speaker
i'm I'm in the Zoran Mamdani camp. Yeah, for sure. I'm definitely in more of a Mamdani state of mind and and have had those beliefs for quite some time. i i I just I do think about again, I know that he's very establishment. But the kind of turnout and the excitement and really the prospects tied to 2008 when Obama won, because I think he wasn't really being groomed as the candidate for the Democratic Party. It was Hillary. And then he just turned everybody out and she lost. Yeah. he became the candidate. And um I feel like it's been that long since people have felt, not saying that it is, but have felt like the candidate that they're voting for like means something to them, like it like truly excites them. I know that Trump to some people is like the Messiah, but I think to to most people who voted for him, they kind of did it you know pinching their nose and kind of looking up because they they thought, well, i don't you know things are expensive and things are hard.
00:13:36
Speaker
Oh, I was going to say, yeah, I agree with you on that sentiment. I think a lot of people now thought that Trump would be better because, yeah, it was at least a little bit better in 2016. you know And then the Democrats running on the the we're going to keep everything as it is right now ticket is awful. Yeah.
00:13:54
Speaker
So, let's you know, let's talk about Mom Donnie a little bit. Yeah. He's obviously shown very early on um that if you and if you use the people you're investing in and invest in them, then they will invest in their own people and themselves, right? It's kind of this like, there's this kind of ecosystem that you can create like with with the ice plow or the snow plowing program that he did recently, the shoveling rather. um You know, he he created a lot of jobs to help people
00:14:27
Speaker
you know make money to clear the streets for people in their communities. And so it's like investing in social welfare and therefore people's tax dollars they see in front of them. My tax dollars are going to people who have jobs clearing the snow to help me and it helps them as well. And so that...
00:14:47
Speaker
That kind of stuff is like so, it it reminds me of like old school, like FDR type programs, like social programs, because that was his whole thing was like, yeah I'm just going to create all of these new programs, create all these jobs that will benefit different parts of society and invest in the American people by paying the American people to help the American people. And now we've gotten so much more individualistic.
00:15:12
Speaker
I was watching, have you seen Subway takes? Do you know that that like yeah social media? yeah Really good. But there was one guy on there who was like, I feel like now we're at the point where it's like, what can I get away with?
00:15:24
Speaker
yeah terms of like capitalism, it's like when you charge $28 for a beer at a sporting event or something, like it's just what can I get away with? Instead of like, is this right? you know Is this exploiting people? Is this taking advantage of people? Can people actually afford this? Should I feel bad that they can't? No, 100%. A beautiful thing for that. It's kind of a mirage. kind of, you know, people don't think about the affordability thing when everyone's running things on their credit card. Right. As I'm getting ready to move, I've, i've you know, living here for so long, I've
00:15:58
Speaker
really just so much stuff i'm like oh my god i'm like such a materialist but obviously when you stay in one place for so long and we're collectors too um ah there's a little bit of that too i have a hoarder gene in me yeah but it's just um you know it's it it becomes apparent that it's just like for me i i feel like i have sometimes i have good impulse control and sometimes i don't and it depends it's like I think we're being conditioned and in a lot of ways to just be so okay with the idea of having to buy a new monitor every two or three years, buy a new graphics card every two two years, ah you know, to um something as simple as like,
00:16:37
Speaker
Gosh, you know, buying a new shoes before the shoes you're currently wearing have actually like worn off or gone bad and destroyed. um Yeah, it's just every, it's never enough.
00:16:50
Speaker
And that's the system that we work with is that, whereas other countries, it's very much about like rallying around what you have. And here it's about rallying around what you don't have and trying to always like reach the unreachable and like get to that point. It's like about status and symbolism and like,
00:17:05
Speaker
Like, oh, well, if I spend $600 on these glasses, which I'm guilty of liking the designer frames, but they are super expensive. And it's like, nobody will notice that I'm wearing those. They just like fucking glasses, like everyone else's glasses, right? And it's just like, who is this for? What are you doing this for? You're ultimately just doing it for...
00:17:24
Speaker
you know the system rather than yourself. It doesn't actually make you healthier. it doesn't make you ultimately long-term feel better. um it ah It perpetuates bad behaviors and bad habits. And that's really just kind of the society we're at. it's It's a commentary on capitalism, but I think it's a commentary on the way the world has shifted so drastically and being less caring about people and being less...
00:17:47
Speaker
about humanity and more about, time yeah um, really just about profits and the, the, the ever so existential dread, the system of the dread around people relying on ever decreasing workforce.
00:18:05
Speaker
Um, yeah, the live right. It's, it's like a system that's like, Hey, for us to make the most money, we need to displace all the people who give us money. We are watching an American economy ah start develop in a way that it is excluding people.
00:18:24
Speaker
And you need people for an economy to work. So we are this is the first time that we're exploring, like, can you have an economy without a workforce? And that is going to be scary.
00:18:35
Speaker
Yeah, i think i mean I think the answer is going to be no. I mean i think so too. I think it's a pretty – I mean, that's what's alarming a lot of economists and and obviously the everyday everyday people is like, hey, you know your raise your your your your plans for your company are to raise price or raise prices.
00:18:55
Speaker
When you are losing money, you raise prices. Mm-hmm. And then you plan layoffs to increase your margins every year. The biggest companies like Amazon, it's a part of their you know meta, they they they plan layoffs, which is crazy. You should only ever lay people off when you have to, not when you just like you feel like it you want to.
00:19:13
Speaker
That's whole other thing. And so it leaves more and more people undercutting each other and competing for jobs and companies have all the leverage in that situation. and then um you know it's just a really bad position. The the the employee,
00:19:29
Speaker
the consumer marketplace, has probably some probably the lowest leverage it's ever had. Oh, yeah. Or some of the lowest leverage it's ever had. Sometimes it gets to me, for sure. like It's times like this, I'm glad I have a therapist to talk through some of this stuff because it's just like, man, you don't want to... i have my ah We have our own lives and we have things that make us happy. um we have our own you know we We have a roof over our heads. There's a lot to be to be um thankful for, um obviously. and But at the same time, ah it's hard not to...
00:20:00
Speaker
to to worry and to care about this, you know, to get a little deep, like I've traditionally always kind of been someone who's wanted to have a family some point in my life. and And honestly, I am so I'm like, I'm putting that on hold, because I need to see some results. I need to see things get better in some way before I can in good conscious like myself, and I'm just speaking for myself feel happy and confident with the idea of like bringing someone into into the world right now or, you know, anytime in the in the future.
00:20:30
Speaker
And I know that's like very deep and existential, but yeah, I think it's owed to us. And I think, you know, ultimately we outnumber the people in power. And when it comes to our voices being heard, I'm i'm hopeful that we that there's some disruption here and that things sway back.
00:20:48
Speaker
And I think so. And I think that that is, you know, like we're already starting to see that, you know, you you see one of the first ah like like in Texas, one of the first like progressive Democrats that have been elected, you know, in the state in years.
00:21:02
Speaker
You already have like progressive candidates that have. You're talking about Tallarico? Oh, yeah, that too. Yeah, um I'm super excited about him. Yeah, we can talk about Texas in a second because I was going to bring that up, but keep keep going.
00:21:15
Speaker
Yeah. um i But I mean, and and we've so we've we already kind of seen this this backlash occur. And I think that, yeah, like we might see that swing in the midterms. It's going to be interesting to see how conservatives and even like establishment like Democrats respond to all of this.
00:21:34
Speaker
But I think that there is a lot of, there's a lot to be hopeful for. Yeah. I sometimes think about It's like, man, if your strategy was to to stay in power, this is not be it. I mean, it's like it's like a bet to see who can tank their party the most. And it's the Republicans have a very clear lead right now um in terms of the decisions that they've made on behalf of the country. Yeah.
00:21:59
Speaker
it's you know it's just like where where do people begin about things they don't just they disagree with is it the way that ice has been handled and that that the catastrophe there is it in venezuela is it been iran has it been the economy the tariffs i mean the election fraud you know attempts or attempts to control elections all the yeah disregard for the courts the fact that he's most likely I mean, I call him a pedophile. I think I think it's pretty safe to assume that he is at least really good friends with a lot of them. And therefore, he's implicit in it. Even if he's not, he knows a lot of them. and he Yeah. And it's so problematic. And I was like, I mean, you have pedophiles telling everybody that it's not OK to be a pedophile. and ah And it's so fascinating to me. You know, we've gotten to this point now with with Epstein.
00:22:46
Speaker
that we have of just massive dump of the most horrifying thing stuff that you can imagine. And then you have nothing happening after that in the States. At least in other countries, there's a lot of attempts to do have some justice. Yeah, embarrassing, right? Yeah. Not only is it embarrassing, but it's pretty clear that that there is some serious corruption and cover up happening. oh And that's not a partisan stance. That is literally what ah what everybody believes in. Everybody, every common person sees in front of them because it's like, where's the justice here? You know, even Bill Clinton, he testifies, Hillary testifies. And Trump's like, I feel bad for Bill. Like he's over here, like protecting a Clinton. And it's like, wow, the corruption runs so deep. that he's over here saying that he feels bad for him and that he doesn't like the way that he's being treated. right Yeah. Well, i mean, because he knows that if people treat Bill that way, they have to treat him that way too. Yeah.
00:23:42
Speaker
Yeah. And, uh, and then we also just, you know, we have somebody who is, so willing to retaliate when his feelings are hurt in charge of firing, launching nuclear missiles. And it's just like, okay, something's got to give here. And, you know, November can't come soon enough.
00:23:58
Speaker
But let's say, as as is what I'm expecting, there's a really big push for and wave for Democrats and a lot of seats are flipped. The House, very likely, the Senate, up in the air, but I'm so thinking likely that they have a good shot there too. If he continues to try to do what he does, how is he held accountable?
00:24:18
Speaker
Even if the Democrats are, you know, quote unquote, in power, the Supreme Court is really kind of a wild card slash leaning Trump oftentimes. And, that you know, you defer to them and then they their their rulings make no sense. They allow gerrymandering for like three or four states and then they just stop one state from doing it. And, you know, it's just I was shot i was pleasantly surprised that they allowed California to do their gerrymandering.
00:24:42
Speaker
referendum, even though people voted on it, I wouldn't have been surprised if they wanted to hear the case and would have overturned it. But it's all just, it's just power play after power play here. You know, I, the gerrymandering sucks. Like I would feel really bad if I were just an everyday person, maybe moderate, maybe leaning, you know, conservative who just gets drawn out of a district just because their state's governor is like, we want more seats. Yeah.
00:25:07
Speaker
yeah And, you know, Texas is such a big state that what they what they're trying to do is ridiculous. And it might not even work because the primary turnout, it was more Democrat Democratic votes in the primary than Republican, which is really crazy. Yeah, I mean, like, that's crazy. So I think that's a big sign of I think at least even if Tallarico doesn't win, which I think he's got a good shot. But, you know, it's it's been a long time since they've done anything in Texas.
00:25:33
Speaker
I think it's a very clear indicator on where people are are moving and feeling right now. And i it gives me hope that they'll show up when it matters most in November and that we can start to see some some some pushback.
00:25:48
Speaker
I don't know, Andrew, right now it's just... I feel like no matter what happens, it doesn't matter. There's this feeling of it just doesn't really matter. We're not used to that. We're not used to completely disregard of physics and common law and health and basic human dignity and sense and safety and everything like that. I mean, fair enough. You know, honestly, I felt this in 2016. I mean, this isn't too far off from the first, you know, like Trump administration. I think a lot that's being done here rhymes.
00:26:23
Speaker
I think, you know, I mean, 2016 was a little bit better because they hadn't been deploying ISIS as like a personal police force yet. But, you know, they assassinated Soleimani and tried to start a war with, you know, during his 2016 administration.
00:26:37
Speaker
think that was like, what, 2019 or 2020. We went through COVID, you know, with Trump. And then also, you know, just had Trump appoint his family to prominent seats. and And, you know, at that point was a complete breaking of norms. I think that was the first time it was stress tested. This time around, they they kind of know what they can get away with. And they didn't. And so I will say one thing that stopped Trump the first time around, though, is because he he had the presidency, but he didn't control the House and the Senate.
00:27:05
Speaker
Even if the midterms do flip and and the the Republicans lose control of the House and the Senate, I think that that will at least put a bit of a roadblock on on what they can do.
00:27:17
Speaker
And there are things that the House and the Senate can do. just to at least hamper, you know, Trump a little bit. So I do think that there is a lot to be hopeful for moving forward. And I do think that this is something that like, yeah ah like we as an American country can like weather.
00:27:33
Speaker
Yeah, I think the, I will say that as bad of a look as we have right now, I, the America, America and the people who like, really make up the the bat really the backbone of this country are incredibly resilient people and um you know I think those are the same people who feel like their voices have been suppressed and haven't been heard for the longest and they oftentimes are the ones whose votes matter the most because when they do show up things can swing really hard in either direction oh for sure um and you know we're talking about a lot of people who they they live in like
00:28:11
Speaker
lesser populated areas or if they do live in a more densely populated area, they're, you know, they're the people who represent them are more corporate aligned, they don't really have opportunities to feel represented. And, um you know,
00:28:26
Speaker
The Senate and the House, like the the House of Representatives, I really feel like everybody, almost everybody in there, sans a few, all act on their own personal beliefs and not on the representation of the people who elected them. And this isn't anything new, but I think it's it's really, really, really clear that people are are using their own beliefs and voting based on that and not voting based on really what their constituents think. A lot of the times, you know, we've seen footage of town halls where people are, you know, either they're not showing up or they're not taking questions or when they are taking questions, they're really hard hitting ones. And they basically tell them to their face, like, you're wrong.
00:29:08
Speaker
Um, you know, i but I see like the GOP account that I don't even follow post on Facebook all the time. It's like Trump, the, the, the beast president, the president who will never start a war as he started to, and it's just everyone in the comments is like, is this satire? Like, what are you talking about? It's just, you know, it's, again, it's this whole idea that i you know, I, I believe what I believe. I'm not going to listen.
00:29:33
Speaker
and i'm going to use i'm going to weaponize that and that's really what the government has been able to do um the house of representatives has this felt probably the loudest voices of dissent right now we like thomas massey um i mean and marjorie taylor green was really weird i think that was kind of really bizarre kind of instance from her of you know Lauren Boebert, you know, she seems pretty, pretty much like she's gonna stay the same idiot that she's always been. Yeah. And whereas Marjorie Taylor Greene seemed to grow like two brain cells. um To be able to be like, I'm out, even though I don't really like her at all. I was surprised by that. Yeah, no. So I mean, I'm sorry, no, no, no, I know. I mean, that's interesting. Because yeah, that was just that was so weird. um but no yeah yeah no i agree that yeah that we do have like those those voices dissented and then and the senate because of the filibuster like you're never going to have like an actual majority to like pass like actual legislation in the senate anything partisan will never get passed oh for sure um and i think if the democrats the democrats best case scenario is they flip enough seats to get to like 51.
00:30:41
Speaker
You know, there's still nine short of the 60 needed to pass anything besides like budget reconciliation. Yeah. um And so it's just a lot of and honestly, trump Trump's got in and he's like, fuck this. This takes forever. You guys, you just said it can't pass anything. So I'm going to break the law and I'm just going to do what I want. you know Everyone's just like, oh, wow, he can do that.
00:31:03
Speaker
I guess he can do that. And he just is just he just keeps doing it. I will disagree with you on one point, though. You said you saw a lot of this in 2016. was very similar. I'd say you saw flashes of what was to come in 2016. But he was surrounded by a lot more people who had experience and who were willing to say no in in a lot of cases, not every case. and But now you have like the most weaponized incompetence across all major parts of his administration. i mean, everyone that he's really that's he's put in a position of power in his cabinet is so unqualified and has no and he's and no experience. um
00:31:39
Speaker
You know, you have Pete Hegseth who came from Fox News, right? Kristi Noem. I mean, she has experience in government, but she's, you know, one of the worst governors. Yeah. ah In the country. Oh, you killed a dog, which is a whole crazy thing that she was proud of, you know, just like murdering an animals. Um, and, uh,
00:31:57
Speaker
Yeah, it's just you have people that he's put in place now who are are not willing to say no to him. And I think that's what's been the biggest difference is that they've kind of enabled him to do anything that he wants. And I think there was some guardrails put up around him and he was trying to get to know the job the first time. So, yes, there was definitely signs of what was to come his first term.
00:32:20
Speaker
But I think it's it's way, way, way, way worse now. I mean, yeah, it's it's worse now for sure. Yeah. but like i mean yeah even in 2016 like betsy devos was the uh as soon as i said department of education yeah unqualified i thought of betsy devoss as soon as unqualified yeah we have linda mcmahon now um we had the head of the epa was um oh my god what's that guy he was the probably some oil executive yeah well he was a senator who kept saying he was a geologist even though he's not a geologist um but anyway uh yeah
00:32:54
Speaker
No, it's ah yeah, it is still a deeply incompetent regime. i ah Stephen Miller seems to be the shadow president turning it up to 11. Yeah. yeah Back then there was a bit of a power struggle, though, last time between Stephen Miller and Conway ah Conway. Yeah.
00:33:12
Speaker
Kelly and Conway. Yeah. Between her and Kelly, him and Kelly and Conway, at least the first time. And Steve Bannon. Yeah. Steve Bannon too. Yeah. Well, let's talk about what are the things that make us feel, you know, hopeful here? Cause we, we've alluded to a little bit of it.
00:33:28
Speaker
Um, you know, I think history shows that the pendulum swings. I, all of this is pretty unprecedented though. So it's hard to, to use the exact same predictor and be like, this is, you know, this is the way it's good. People are going to react.
00:33:43
Speaker
I do think that there's, a much louder movement shifting on the left than I have seen on the right. I think there's a lot of breaking apart on the right and people dissenting from each other, but I haven't seen ah respectable sort of, you know, movements away from MAGA that has gotten the headlines and attention that you see from like,
00:34:07
Speaker
really like progressives on the left, like what we've seen with Mom Donnie and what he was able to accomplish. James Tallarico, you know, is probably the worst case scenario for, for the Republicans in Texas because he is, does have a religious background and he does like check a lot of the like boxes of like the, the moderate to moderate right leaning people who are dissatisfied with the way things are right now.
00:34:31
Speaker
know, you have, you know,
00:34:34
Speaker
a lot of good primary opposition um by progressives that um are coming up and have just happened in Texas. So ah as someone who aligns with those people, that makes me feel good. i don't want a uniparty system. I don't even like a two-party system, but...
00:34:52
Speaker
If I had to pick between a uniparty system of progressives right now versus what the other side is presenting, I would rather obviously have the first thing um just because it's getting really out of control, the kind of, know, and the people that they're running, that Republicans are running.
00:35:08
Speaker
in most cases, not all, in most cases, though, I feel um are really problematic and don't have good candidate quality. But the Democrats have that too, just not really to the extent. um So I want to see as many flips of seats in november as possible to try to to get this thing back to the middle of the court not even like i mean this is we're just trying to stabilize here i don't think we're trying to there's too much damage that's been done to go all the way to the other side here anytime soon um so yeah i mean
00:35:46
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, exactly. You just want like just somebody to at least start to be able to offer like improved material conditions for just regular Americans. I'd love to see like a Lena Khan or like a Lena Khan type figure once again, you know, in charge of the the FTC. um We need to start breaking up these monopolies and um someone who can also get like healthcare care back on track. Hopefully, you know, we don't lose our the the coverage of, you know, our, at least our current plan, even though it's not great, at least it offers like a public option for people to buy health insurance.
00:36:25
Speaker
it's There's a lot to think about. um i want to take a step back and talk about other things that are happening right now that I think are they going to seem a little random, but maybe connected. ah Sports betting and gambling has become ah a rampant sort of available thing. Touch of your you know touch of a couple taps, you could make or lose your entire life savings. probably lose. um you know have you have you noticed have you Have you noticed that shift in terms of advertising everything much more aligned with gambling, right? I feel like there's a lot of AI slash gambling propaganda being pushed down our throats now.
00:37:02
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think this ties exactly into what we were talking about before. It's a symptom of everyone's material conditions you know getting worse. The idea that there is no legitimate way to make money or to, you know through through hard work, you're not gonna become wealthy, you're not going to be able to build life for yourself. So you know at that point, I think you saw a lot of people feel that they have to turn to gambling, these you know these prediction markets. and and and And not only that, you know I feel that this is definitely going to be the next opioid epidemic.
00:37:37
Speaker
for the u.s is like my personal feeling on it and it's global you know well that's such a good point about illegitimate money-making techniques now it's like they know that you we can't make money because we're not allowed so it's like well let's make you know here do this invest as well put it on red crypto and like yeah yeah gamble it yeah yeah put it all yeah put it on red exactly and uh um glp ones another thing and that is all over the place now with like Roe, ZepBound, Ozempic, the weight loss, drugs. um
00:38:14
Speaker
Basically like, hey again, similar to making money. It's like, and this is when I say this, by the way, this is I totally understand the the use cases and needs for having these drugs.
00:38:25
Speaker
But it's like, hey, you know, don't want to work out to lose his 20 pounds. Why don't you take a pill? um Because there are a lot of people who are like not super overweight or obese who are taking, who are who are interested in who are taking these drugs.
00:38:40
Speaker
And it's ah what people don't realize is that I know someone my family who who takes this. And the side effects are really strong. They make you feel really sick. You get dizzy.
00:38:51
Speaker
You can't really function. your Your energy levels fluctuate. And these aren't like, you know, rare side effects. These are guaranteed side effects. How do you think your appetite gets suppressed? It's because you're so sick all the time. You don't feel like eating. That's how you lose the weight.
00:39:05
Speaker
And so it's it's basically advertising um something that's going to make you feel sick and and telling you that you should take it because, you know, it'll improve your health. There are some health benefits to it, but it's it's alarming. And it's another thing that is being pushed everywhere now is our GLP ones.
00:39:23
Speaker
Anytime that there's like a new... quick weight loss formula, it's always just taken the world by storm. Like it's always just a guaranteed like money printer.
00:39:35
Speaker
Because this was the same thing with like fen fen back in the 90s. These were the amphetamine based pills in the 60s and 70s. And all of these turns out like when you do research later on down the line, you find out they're extremely dangerous.
00:39:50
Speaker
And I think that we might we might find that like even here with like Ozempic and just peptides in general. if If you're listening from inside the culture country or like outside of the country, like I think yeah as an American like this is all the stuff that's just rattling around in your head, or at least it is for Nick and i um Yeah.
00:40:08
Speaker
Yeah, of course, you know, like I yeah, it's because this is all the stuff that yeah, like we were unfortunately thinking about like on a near daily basis. And yeah we are getting bombarded with it. Yeah, exactly. we We live it. We see it all the time. i had an an amazing trip to England recently and hang out with Tim King to take her open. And shout out to Tim for being an awesome host. Had a really just a life-changing experience. It's like at an awesome trip. Beautiful place.
00:40:34
Speaker
um Despite the fact that it was like rainy the whole time. It was really wonderful. But that's the authentic English experience. Right. But there was something about being there. It's like, you know what? it's What's interesting is that when I was in London, I was only, you know, I've been to London twice and I wasn't in London for, you know, it's like I've lived in London, but while I was there and I took the tube everywhere and i was walking around all over the place. And, um, it's like the city like knows that the people living there exist and that they matter. And the investment into infrastructure there is really remarkable. Granted, I know it's expensive to live there. Um, very expensive, but the, the bus and train system,
00:41:14
Speaker
um and the The safety measures and the you know and the the reduction of cars allowed to drive into the city, all of those things are really fascinating to me. And um they don't have special interests or corporations getting in the way of that type of progress like we would here or like we do here. We could never, ever at a countrywide level, granted I know England's really small, I know, ever try to do something like that.
00:41:41
Speaker
um And it was just, I don't know, just if it felt like people lifestyle there was people were like enjoying their lives. It was like, you know, they were, they, they, they work, they'd leave work around the same time. a lot of people, obviously people work different jobs. They're like, you know, I'm ready to live my life and go out and hang out at the pub or, you know, go, go see a show or walk around. And, um, I, and then going to the countryside, it was just really peaceful.
00:42:07
Speaker
Yeah. And, um, you just don't experience, you can't fully experience peace in parts of the States. There's definitely those, you know, beautiful areas and national parks and smaller towns.
00:42:18
Speaker
but just not the same kind of experience that you get in England. um And I'll probably, didn't mean, honestly, Europe in general. Oh, for sure. There's, it's just more socialized. I think that's really what I'm getting at is that there's a little bit more of a socialized outlook um than we could possibly have.
00:42:36
Speaker
And so I was trying not to do too many comparisons for the sake of staying sane, but I was like, this is really different. Like, this is really interesting. This is crazy. It's like, um but the dude i mean the a london underground makes the cta look like child's play i mean those trains run so so quickly and so they're just always just right there every couple of minutes you get a train same thing it's pretty awesome yeah like like in spain like through europe too like once you really have access like that level of of like public transit you're like oh this is special this is really good yeah yeah yeah it's really special You know, I'm fortunate to live in Chicago where we at least have the option to have public transit. But yeah, no, theirs is like light years ahead of where we're at. Yeah. i I went through their Supreme Court because they I don't know if you knew this, Andrew, you know, you're a man of fun facts. Their Supreme Court is about 17 years old. They haven't had one until 17 years ago.
00:43:32
Speaker
um It was Parliament was their their. ah was what they used to dictate law yeah until that until 17 years ago and i walked through their supreme court building because you could walk in for free and walk through the courtrooms it was pretty cool very modest supreme court by the way beautiful building but smaller the courtrooms modern but bodest Yeah. um but there were some cases that were outlined some major cases that you could read about and one of them was about covid and business insurance companies basically companies that
00:44:05
Speaker
had to stay closed because of covid and who were denied claims by their insurance companies to cover their operating costs and their loss their their losses And the Supreme Court sided with the people and ordered the insurance companies to pay out their policies to these and business owners. And I thought, never in the United States of America would that ever happen.
00:44:31
Speaker
It was really incredible to see a case like that. Clearly, the judges didn't feel any pressure from the insurance companies like you would have the kind of web of corruption here. Granted, I'm not saying England doesn't have its own issues in terms of corruption stuff. Talking to locals, they have their own issues. Every government does. But it's not in the way...
00:44:53
Speaker
of the the betterment of people the way it is here and so i just thought that was a really fascinating case so then the way that they ruled it um it's like wow that's fascinating yeah for sure but yeah it was a great trip and um it was it was fun pretending to be um an englishman for a week and then coming back i am part english which is cool so i kind of going home like back to my roots a little bit my grandfather's british Oh, cool.
00:45:20
Speaker
Yeah. I know, Andrew, you've done a lot of traveling in general, but the last year, I feel like you've been out of the country, i don't know, three, four times, maybe. Is that right? Yeah. i Yeah. In about like a one year span. Yeah, we did Spain, Portugal, Greece and Turkey.
00:45:37
Speaker
So when you were in Turkey, what was that experience like? Because again, I feel like it's easy as some both of us who are politically mindful. Yeah. What was that like being in Turkey?
00:45:48
Speaker
So for me, like I was in I was in Antalya, Turkey for a wedding. um It was absolutely lovely. I was there you know back in June. um It was really it was really cool because Antalya isn't really a vacation destination for Americans.
00:46:06
Speaker
um But it's seen as like the Cancun of Europe. And so it's a very tourist friendly city. Like everyone I talked to was super friendly. um And then also before I would go there, I was trying to learn like a couple Turkish like phrases or or learn how to speak it a little bit. I got like these like language tapes.
00:46:27
Speaker
So making sure I was saying things like ah like Meraba, which is like hello. And then Tessa Kalar, which is thank you. This was like Turkey was like the one country where if you just tried to speak a little bit of Turkish like with them, they would get like so excited.
00:46:42
Speaker
And they're like, whoa, you like, you know, some Turkish. They're like, that's so cool. That's cool. Culturally, like there is much more, you know, religious and traditional. Right. In Turkey. Yeah. I mean, like, yeah. When when you go there, you know, political stuff. Yeah. There's a, you know, like you'll, you'll definitely hear the call to prayer from the mosques, um like the hotel that we're staying in was, was pretty close to one.
00:47:04
Speaker
We went on a historical tour like there as well. And, you know, Antalya as an ancient city. And ah you see a lot of like how...
00:47:18
Speaker
the the shifting tribes and politics that that from there have like shaped them over over the course of the year, or over the course so course of ah history. pull like I didn't really get into any sort of like politics with the locals um there, and you know because Erdogan is the the the president of Turkey, a a bit of an autocrat. He's got... a you know you that's not a place that as an outsider you want to be like caught talking about anything political with yeah however just when i was there talking to like the people they had a a big city festival so they had like concert venues that were set up all over the city they had um a lot of like like fair like like craft fairs they had a a bunch of painters that were like they had an art festival And i just get to get back, like talking with the people and then seeing how their city runs and operates. It's just one of those things that lets you know, no matter where you are, like what side of the world, like, I felt so at home.
00:48:21
Speaker
the the The people there were just like, I feel like, you know, anywhere else, just as friendly. had a lot of like similar interests and and likes, you know? um Yeah, that like the more that I've traveled, the more I realized that all humans are, we're so similar, no matter where the world we are. We just really are similar.
00:48:39
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, there's something, it it is ah it's a good reminder to wherever you are that you like you know you have the same blood, you have, you know we're all we're all you're all humans this at the end of the day.
00:48:51
Speaker
yeah And you know I think us having you know our differences or reasonable differences is kind of what makes what makes things function like in terms of like society, but also just like that's the way it's supposed to be. Not everyone should all you know be the same or believe all the same things. But it's the respect for one another that I think is really what matters. That's the kicker, right? Is what matters most. 100%. Yeah. And I know that like a country like Turkey, um respect is ah is ah as a foundational pillar of lifestyle and, you know, obviously religion their their religion, um you know. Yeah.
00:49:25
Speaker
Islam is is is an important aspect as well um there. And I don't really know much about Islam, so um I have no comments on it. I just know that they take it much more seriously than I think we take our sorts of faith or our faith in the States, whether you have it or not.
00:49:41
Speaker
Well, we've talked about, we've been able to talk about a lot. I think this has been, this is really easy for us to do this. i was like, man, this is going to be easy to just, yeah, and do these off topic podcasts. I know appreciate everybody, ah you know, listening up to this point. um Obviously a lot of ah big topics, you know, political, political conversations. um You know, the the, the major thing that I want to reinforce is that I'm not caring about politics or not wanting to talk about it is a privileged position. And I just want, everyone should remind themselves of that when someone's like, I don't want to hear it. It must be nice that it doesn't affect you the way it affects other people. um So, you know, I, it's just,
00:50:22
Speaker
It's just something that I, my patience around that, I understand when it's like, I want to try to escape and not think about this right now. Like I just want to, it's not that, that's not what I'm talking about. It's when someone's like, it's not a problem if you don't look up that attitude, like that very Jen Erso type, you know, that line from Rogue One. It's a problematic stance. And so I don't, I'm not saying that everyone should be like an activist, but um I think,
00:50:48
Speaker
you should be willing to recognize that you know people people's lives are affected in a lot of pretty severe ways or intense ways and are that the impact is huge. And that's not a partisan or political thing, that's just life.
00:51:02
Speaker
and Oh, fair enough. I would just be yeah be more willing to to listen and talk about those things. Yeah. you know ah versus being like oh like you know i i don't watch like when people comment ah very rarely but comment on my youtube channel it's like man like stop talking like sick to sports stop talking about politics it's like no ah no ah you know it's uh if you if you want to put your head in the sand there are a lot of ways to do it but not not with me unfortunately if you're expecting somebody who's not ever going to talk about what's going on in the world um It's not gonna be Andrew or myself that you're gonna find that we're always yeah willing to acknowledge yeah and talk about things that are happening. And um for us, it comes naturally. I think for others, it's more uncomfortable. It depends on your own experiences and trauma. and
00:51:49
Speaker
But it's better to be willing to talk about it than to be someone who wants to run away from it and put their head in the sand. Yeah, I mean, I think it makes sense. I mean, one, yeah think of the media. We like Star Wars, which is extremely political.
00:52:03
Speaker
Yeah, space fascism. Yeah, george George Lucas was not subtle about really any of the messages that are inside of Star Wars. Yeah, exactly. take that i take that to heart. yeah Now, I will say in line with Star Wars 2, I would prefer everyone be an activist. I think that would be it be easier.
00:52:22
Speaker
Yeah, it's your the reason why things have gotten to the way they have is because enough people haven't done something about it. The voice, the voices haven't gotten loud enough. And I'm hoping that we keep getting, you know, marching in the direction of of people coming together and unifying and and pushing back against things that, you know, it's basically a system that has nobody's best interest in mind unless you're a billionaire pedophile. Yeah. I mean, that's really what it feels like these days. For sure. Yeah. Or unless you just have a ton of money because, you know, wealth is power and that's the way that that op things, up that's way it operates everywhere. Wealth, you know, it gives you power.
00:52:57
Speaker
It's a universal type of currency. Power, you know, you have the money and you can do whatever you want anywhere. You know, speaking of Star Wars, before we wrap up here, Are you excited about the Mandalorian Grogu movie? Because I keep forgetting it to exists. I'm excited about it.
00:53:14
Speaker
Okay. What are you excited about? and Anything in particular? So I will say from what I have seen, it looks like they're getting back to their like season one spaghetti Western roots.
00:53:26
Speaker
It feels like it's not going to take itself too seriously. It feels like it's going to be just a fun summer blockbuster adventure. I hope that it doesn't one for one copy season one of Mandalorian because it looks like even from you know some of the the costumes that it might I forgot the guy who Werner Harzog played but like they have like that guy is kind of like the main you know like villain ah but it does seem fun I like that the poster kind of harkens back to like the 1980s Indiana Jones adventure style poster so it's something that I think might be worth seeing in theaters yeah I'm definitely going to go see it I just um
00:54:05
Speaker
I don't know. I think Andor kind of, I was so out on Star Wars and then Andor really brought me back in Talk about relevance to everything we've talked about. yeah That show couldn't have been made at a better time in in terms of just how accurate and how tied to just the way things are these days. It's just really on on the nose. But I am, a I think I'm ready for the Mandalorian and Grogu saga to to end and for them to find something new.
00:54:32
Speaker
And I hope this movie does a good kind of, finale wrap up to what the show was and yeah the highs and you know it it it hits those highs and that like you said i don't think it should be taken too seriously but you know you and i differ on opinions on the mandalorian but i do i do hope that they have something else planned something new planned that they can move to because it seems like they're not really willing to stretch this out past the movie anymore don't think there's another season of the show coming or anything Yeah, I mean, I feel i feel like the Mandalorian story has been told.
00:55:06
Speaker
For listeners out there, when we say we disagree on the Mandalorian, I think we both like it. I really loved season three. And that's not an opinion that a lot of other people share. But I will also say that with the caveat that I feel that season three was written for i me like And someone like me specifically.
00:55:26
Speaker
Yeah, and I mean, and when it comes to, you know, Jewish identity, and Dave Filoni is Jewish, and there's a little bit a tie, obviously, the Mandalorian. As someone who is religious, like I was like, oh, this is a show. This is this is a season for religious people.
00:55:41
Speaker
Yeah, it's um I. The only real issue that I have with the Mandalorian, i thought season one had ah was had some really good moments. And then there was a couple of episodes I felt like I was like, oh, this is kind of like a filler. Like there's a few of those. It was my thoughts. Season two, I thought was awesome.
00:56:01
Speaker
I mean, it was just like top top notch for me. I thought it was like, this is great. It's doing the things that it did well in the first season. It's kind of building a narrative. It's not doing anything too formulaic. um The first season, I feel like it was guilty of kind of repeating some so some ah templated kind of like formula for like, he goes to this place and needs to do this thing to get this thing to do the thing. And I thought they were really weaving a narrative the second season with him as with the dark saber of Bo-Katan and everything like that. And then I thought the third season, it like flashed at the very beginning that it was continuing that story. And then I felt like it kind of put that on hold for a while. and it was like, we'll get to Mandalore and the good stuff at the very end. And so I didn't love that as much. um
00:56:45
Speaker
But that was just, yeah. Season three, as you said, obviously, I think it didn't hit where people wanted it to in terms of like total audience favor. ah But it's certainly always entertaining. um i loved I love Grogu just hitting. um What is it? No, no, no. Right on IG. I had an IG-11 and just running around. it was just like, what am I watching? This is hilarious. Yeah. just a baby in a killer assassin droid for lloyd lizzo jack black cameos you know we had that in an episode which was interesting yeah that was the that was the the like the i think what the most panned episode i get why i mean that was that was a diversion That was, yeah, it was in the past. That was something.
00:57:32
Speaker
I thought it was cool. Like, it I didn't hate it. i'm I'm happy that they did something different. I think that was kind of when they were trying to get back to like the more of the spaghetti Western kind of stuff. Yeah.
00:57:43
Speaker
Yeah, but like in the middle it felt so middle of the season. Yeah, and it's like, well, no, get back to what the story, guys. Like, what are we doing? if If they had cut that from season three, they had like left season three in and then they were like, oh, this is a bonus episode.
00:57:59
Speaker
Like this is like a, like like they released it like a special bonus. I think people have been like, yeah, that's cool. right it's like a little side mystery adventure isn't it the end of that episode when bo katan becomes like the leader of the mandalorian people yeah very yeah when that when they're flying back yeah yeah so like the very end like they should something really sick they should have happened taken the ending of that episode made at the beginning of the next episode and then if they had just released it as like a side like hey this is an extra i think people would have been on board with it like
00:58:32
Speaker
Yeah. It just felt so jarring. Yeah. Where it was. Din-de-jarring. Din-de-jarring, as they say. Yeah. Mandalorian. To be fair, like, I mean, that was like the same thing with the Book of Boba Fett. They just threw an episode of the Mandalorian in there.
00:58:46
Speaker
Honestly, but made more sense if they'd thrown that episode in the middle of Book of Boba Fett. Yeah. And then you'd be like, what the? Yeah, this is okay. Oh, Book of Boba Fett. Sure. Yeah, I think there's a new season of Ahsoka that's supposed to come out at some point. um I didn't love that show. i might miss that. Yeah, that was I was a snooze fest for me. And I honestly, I've I've stricken it from my own head. Yeah. Well, people are like, oh, like I love Ahsoka, like anything Ahsoka. Like, yes yes, yes, yes, yes. And and I've never been like the biggest fanboy of Ahsoka, but I think she's a good like, you know, post prequel edition character.
00:59:23
Speaker
to, and in terms of prequel edition, I just mean like when the prequels are made, kind of a new character that they added in Star Wars. She is not interesting enough in live action. I mean, Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka is like sleepy material. I'm sorry to say it. don't think it's, I think it's the writing. I think she's, she I mean, ah obviously a very talented actress. I think that, oh boy, it's the the writing once again, I think it's making the actors look bad Yeah. And there's a I mean, there's a there's like a YouTube channel. Gosh, what's his name?
00:59:56
Speaker
um Charlie hopkin hop Hopkins. He does a deep fakes like where he's like, you know, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan like are are reacting to things like on the couch. Yeah. And he was reacting to Ahsoka and he's like, they the part where Balan like stabs the guy at the back, he's like, we are no Jedi. He stabs the guy in the back, you know, and stabs him in the chest. And he's like, oh yeah, i could tell with your red lightsaber. Yeah. Just like really bad writing. um But there's so many villains in that show.
01:00:30
Speaker
I mean, it's like, where do you begin with the villains? So my, i mean, and the problem is most villains don't do anything. Yeah. No, just hanging around.
01:00:41
Speaker
space And I'm sorry, but whoever, what's the name of the actor who plays Thrawn? Do you remember? He looks like Elon Musk. Space Elon. little bit. It's like, if you look up, but just do it. For those of you listening stay at home, lars it's worth it. Yeah.
01:00:57
Speaker
So he if you do, if you Google. Elon versus Thrawn Ahsoka show and the side by side images you cannot unsee it unfortunately it literally looks like Elon oh my gosh it's yeah that show you know alright another season coming we'll see one of my biggest problems was like Star Wars I think has been doing this thing where they introduce like a really cool looking villain but they have no lines of dialogue they're on screen for a total of 10 minutes and they don't do anything
01:01:30
Speaker
um Yeah. And Shin Hattie was that for me. Oh, yeah. At first you're like, oh, this person seems really cool. Like episode one, like, yeah, like, what ah what a great villain. And then has zero dialogue. Yeah. She utters maybe three so words the entire show, shows up, shoots Ahsoka's ship, and then disappears.
01:01:52
Speaker
So Shin Hattie, who is played by Avina Sankno, I'm probably butchering her last name, Sankno, from the Ukraine. I heard her in an interview after like the first season of Ahsoka where they were like, oh, we're like excited to see more from Shin, you know, like, like, what do you think, you know, Shin Hattie's like motivation was? And she was like, oh, I think that, yeah, like Shin Hattie's like still trying to find her motivation. Like i paraphrasing, but I thought that's bad news.
01:02:19
Speaker
if the actress is like, I don't understand my character's motivation. yeah That's, that's, that's a pretty in line with, I think the non Gilroy Disney star Wars stuff. Woof. So yeah, yeah, it's, it's tough. Yeah.
01:02:33
Speaker
Yeah. Remember solo people, apparently that was supposed to be like a trilogy. I'm like, you guys going to make a trilogy a solo? Yeah. don't know. I think, again, it's it's ah another example of um inventing what your audience wants and then making what your fake audience wants and then being shocked when your audience, your true audience, is like, I really want that. Not to say that. I think Ahsoka was, you know, I think 50-50, 60-40 people liked it versus disliked it. Book of Boba Fett's like 30-70 in terms of like to dislike. Yeah.
01:03:03
Speaker
Obi-Wan's probably 40, 60 terms of liked and disliked. Mandalorian's probably like 65, 35, maybe 70, 30, liked disliked. Yeah, but Ahsoka, I'd watch, i'd if I had to watch another show over again, like today, i had to choose like right now, I would choose Obi-Wan over Ahsoka.
01:03:20
Speaker
Oh, in a heart, I would choose anything over Soka. Yeah. Even book of Boba Fett. I would i would watch book of Boba Fett to do a mystery science theater 3000. Like it's fun. It's more fun. It's more fun to make fun of book Boba Fett. Yeah.
01:03:34
Speaker
Because it's way it's a lot more camp to do that. We should totally do that. Or Rise of Skywalker, too. That's another good one. Just drink and do a mystery science theater kind of experience. Oh, man. um Yeah.
01:03:45
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, man. Yeah, we won't even. We'll black that out. But hey, we're really putting the off-topic here. We're talking all over. This has been great. I think we could probably ah wrap up. Obviously, I'll give you a chance for any sort of closing, um you know, random thoughts ah before we you do the outro. No, this has been ah this has been a lot of fun. It's been ah an energetic palate cleanser from our usual material. And it's always just a pleasure hanging out, talking with you. Yeah.
01:04:14
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And this episode probably will come out right before Worlds. And for those of you um who are planning to go, excited to excited to see you guys in person.
01:04:25
Speaker
I've ah got all the gear ready. I'm going make sure that I have that all set aside before I move so I can just grab and go and head over to Milwaukee. I've got the 312 polo shirts coming in.
01:04:36
Speaker
I'm excited for those. Andrew, I got one for you as well. And um it's it's going to be it's going to be a long but exciting and fun weekend. And we hit triple digits in registration. So um it should be a good time, just a ah couple, two and a half weeks away.
01:04:51
Speaker
know, I now can't believe it. Exciting. Thank you all so much for listening to this first ah foray into the... ah off topic episodes. um We hope you enjoyed and thanks for sticking around and I'll leave it to Andrew to do our little outro here.
01:05:05
Speaker
Yeah, I was going to say, you know, to shore up what Nick said to thank you for listening this episode and continuing to support us at 312. We appreciate any time that you click on our episodes and give us any of your your attention. We're looking forward to seeing you at Worlds and hanging out. Let us know what your thoughts are, too. And then also make sure that you can follow us on Twitch, YouTube and Facebook. And we'll have those links for you in the description.
01:05:31
Speaker
Once again, my name is Andrew Kubrick. My name is Nick Off Topic Sperry. And we will see you World. See you later.