All Episodes
Previous Next
Dec. 22, 2023 - Doug Collins Podcast
51:45
What Happened to 2023
| Copy link to current segment

Time Text
You want to listen to a podcast?
By who?
Georgia GOP Congressman Doug Collins.
How is it?
The greatest thing I have ever heard in my whole life.
I could not believe my ears.
In this house, wherever the rules are disregarded, chaos and mob rule.
It has been said today, where is bravery?
I'll tell you where bravery is found and courage is found.
It's found in this minority who has lived through the last year of nothing but rules being broken, people being put down, questions not being answered, and this majority say, be damned with anything else.
We're going to impeach and do whatever we want to do.
Why?
Because we won an election.
I guarantee you, one day you'll be back in the minority, and it ain't going to be that fun.
Hey, everybody.
All right, here we go.
Podcast today is going to be a fun one.
I know it's the holidays.
Many of you are traveling.
Probably going to be on the road.
So James and I just decided we were just going to have some time today.
We're going to look back over 2023.
And we may do a little bit more of this before now and end of the year on a more maybe serious side.
But I want to do just a time day.
We're going to look back over stories that caught our eyes, stories that caught our attention, some poops that have left us this year due to death.
And there's been many of those, as James and I found.
We started off thinking, well, there's a few people, and it's like, wow, there's a lot of people this year that were famous or at least made impacts in people's lives.
So we're just going to have some fun this morning as we go.
I hope you're having a great travel season.
I know that many of you may be stuck in, you know, So right off the break, it's James and I discussing 2023. Hey folks, you know, when you look out and you see the country and just the disarray it is, you see the Biden administration, you see the wholesale prices have just went through the roof again.
Inflation is tearing us up.
If you have your finances all impinged in just a few areas, if you're just in stocks and bonds and you're not diversified...
I got some news for you.
You need a navigator.
You need somebody to help you get to where you need to go with those finances.
And I can't think of anybody better to do that than my friends at Legacy Precious Metals.
You need precious metals in that portfolio.
You need gold and silver.
And Legacy Precious Metals, the folks there, they're the navigators.
They know how to deal with tough times.
They know how to look ahead and take your personal situation and make it something that can be workable for you in the long term.
Because that's at the end of the day, that's the one you're most concerned about.
You need to make sure that your personal finances and your retirement are secure.
You need folks like Legacy Precious Metals helping you in that.
They will take the time to learn you.
They'll learn your finance.
They'll learn where your investment goals are, and they'll help you get there.
And metals and gold right now in this kind of crazy inflation, in this kind of crazy economy with the Biden's economy, you need that help.
And Legacy Precious Metals is the one to do that.
So give Legacy Precious Metals a call.
866-528-1903.
Or you can always visit them online at LegacyPMInvestments.com and you can download their free investor's guide.
Legacy Precious Metals, they're the ones you need.
They're the navigators to help you to these turbulent times.
Hey everybody, it's MyPillow's 20th year anniversary and over 80 million MyPillows have been sold.
Mike Lindell and MyPillow wants to thank each of you and every one of you for giving you the lowest price in history on their MyPillows.
You will receive a queen-size MyPillow for $19.98.
Regular price is $69.98 and just $10 more for a king size.
You will receive deep discounts on all MyPillow products such as bed sheets, mattress toppers, pet beds, mattresses, MySlippers, and so much more.
This is a time to try out something other than the amazing products that you've had your eye on.
Go to MyPillow.com, click on the radio podcast square, and use the promo Collins, C-O-L-L-I-N-S, to receive this amazing offer on the queen-size MyPillow for $19.98 or call 800-986-3994.
This offer comes with a 10-year warranty and 60-day money-back guarantee.
It's time to start getting the quality sleep you deserve.
You know how I know that?
Because I sleep on a MyPillow every night.
Go to MyPillow.com and use promo code Collins, C-O-L-L-I-N-S, or call 800-986-3994 today.
Alright, we're back now.
James, what a year.
Yeah, that's the way to put it.
I mean, you think about it.
There's certain things in life I was...
Okay, this is going to be a personal...
Christmas to me, and again, from my faith, it is Christmas background.
For those who celebrate Hanukkah and the holiday season, best wishes to you as well.
But for me at Christmas season, I have always been, James, a melancholy Christmas person.
Okay?
Meaning I like the holiday.
Don't get me wrong.
I like being around.
But for me, it's always been one of those things that the salinity of something...
Is, to me, more impressive.
It's like, for me, when I was playing basketball, I always liked to be that last person out of the locker room before we ran through the tunnel to go out on the court.
And back when I could hear the crowd going nuts at our high school and at college, I mean, it was a high school, you could hear them going nuts.
And I always wanted to say back just a little bit when the room was quiet in the locker room, everybody else had gone out, and you just sort of looked around.
It's like that moment of anticipation.
Before something, and you look around and you see that contrast.
I see it Christmas.
I enjoy being around family and friends, but I also enjoy the moment of, you know, that Christmas.
And one of my favorite Christmas time music to hear is the Charlie Brown, Christmas time again.
I mean, it's just that...
Sort of melancholy kind of thing.
I love, you know, the Carol of the Bells.
I love O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.
I mean, those songs that, especially Mannheim Steenloader or BNVN, just amazing.
The reason I bring this up, and I think it's really appropriate for 2023, it's been one of those years in which it feels like we've been running all year.
I mean, and last night, I drove into town.
I needed to go get something for Lisa.
She has picked up some...
Some packages she had ordered.
And it was just me and my truck, and we were riding through town, and I turned on a local station or college station and just play sort of classical, sort of Christmas music, the classic jazz kind of stuff.
And I was just riding through town right about sunset, and it just was, to me, almost a perfect 30 minutes of life.
I mean, I started thinking, I rode by a place where I used to have one of my offices, and when I was in practicing law, and I rode down, you know, went by the mall where, you know, used to be that was the main thing in our town.
It was this mall, and now it's really shriveled up to not as much as it used to be.
Went down Green Street, which is the main strip here in my town of Gaines, where they all have lights all lit up, and I can remember going to see in parades and doing parades.
So, James, I say that, so this is sort of a solemn look back, but also a fun look back to saying a year that started with a speaker that took 15 votes to get elected should have told us that this year was going to be a little different.
I mean, come on, man.
Hey, I'm with you.
Listen, first of all, your sentiments on Christmas, I echo a bit.
I am...
Christmas is my favorite time of year.
Like when I was a little kid, I was probably like 10 or 11 years old.
And maybe, no, maybe 12. I don't know.
Somewhere in that range.
And my mom had gone out because what they used to do is they had to hide our presents at my grandma's house because me and my brother were elite.
We were elite finders.
We could find a present anywhere in this house.
So my parents would, my grandparents lived down the road, so they would go to their house and they would hide all our presents there until they would pick them up the night before.
So they stayed there for a while, so I decorated the entire house for no reason.
I don't know what came over me, but I did.
And my mom came home and literally started crying because, you know, parents lose their mind over weird stuff.
Yeah, exactly.
And she was like, this is so beautiful, blah, blah, blah.
And like, I don't know, there's something about Christmas, like the movies, the nostalgia of it, like you saying you're driving that half hour.
I get that.
Like, I get that so...
I love on a kind of cold night...
You're driving through, you got Christmas music on, even if you're just in your house and you're just looking out the window, like, that stuff is so great.
You don't get that in Dallas, I'll tell you that right now.
There ain't no Christmas in Dallas sometimes.
But here, it's cold and damp and Christmassy.
But yeah, listen, I feel you on that totally.
And as far as the start to the season being, yeah, 15 votes for a speaker, Doug, you didn't even make it the whole way.
Yeah.
He didn't make it through the year.
We're at Christmas and he didn't make Thanksgiving.
He did not make it through the year.
Yeah, he didn't make Halloween.
That is the shortest run, right?
Ever?
No, I think probably of an actual elected, not something going weird or anything.
Yeah, probably.
Yeah, not like a substitute.
Like a man was actually elected and then actually voted off the island.
And that's the first time that's actually ever happened.
Unbelievable.
I gotta tell you, that is...
But 2023's been weird.
Just in the middle of all of it, all of this stuff, we had a writer's strike.
Yeah.
Actor's strike.
It's been a strange year, for sure.
Well, here's an interesting part, James, in looking back over this year.
The...
The actor strike actually led to something that we could probably have a much larger discussion about, and that is what they were really getting into was this idea, especially the writers, where this AI-generated content.
It's terrifying.
Yeah, it is.
So, I mean, I think, you know, looking ahead to 2024, which we may be doing an episode later, before the end of the year, on predictions for 2024 that will never come true, hopefully.
You know, where is AI headed?
I mean, I talked to my son, Bo, who's been on the show before.
Who deals in political ads and everything else and cope the most.
We talk about this and they use a lot of AI for time saving.
They'll put in inputs like, you know, write, you know, and this is coming across political ads across the spectrum.
They'll say, write a political ad for so-and-so emphasizing Hard on China.
Right.
I mean, 30 seconds later, or not even 30 seconds, two seconds later, you got a three-paragraph thing to take from, and they just cut and paste it.
And then you had idiots.
You remember this story?
The idiot lawyer who submitted a brief in court that had wrong citations.
Of course it had wrong citations.
You took it off the internet from a chat GPT. That was the peak.
Because remember, I think a little before that, people were doing it for cover letters and resumes.
I'm going to tell you the truth, Doug.
My brother showed me that I could do it with a cover letter.
That was the best cover letter I've never written.
That was...
I took it and he goes, alright, now fill in the things you need to fill in.
And I did.
And I was like, and I got a call back from someone because of that.
I literally got a call to do work because of that, something I didn't write.
It's incredible, but it is scary for actors.
A lot of the concern is if me and you decide to do background acting, and my dog's barking at nothing right now because he's a tyrant, but if you're a background actor, they can just take your face and they can put it in every other movie.
Yeah.
That's someone who might do that for a living.
Well, think about this.
And I'm sure this could happen.
And somebody may have already done it.
And we'll do something that we all know.
I go to my chat GPT and say, write me a screenplay for a movie that involves A group of doctors and nurses and others in Korea during the Korean War making a satirical comedy and have five people.
And it would probably write you out M.A.S.H. Yeah.
Have one person who dresses like a woman.
Add that to the bottom of it.
Like that's...
It's crazy.
It is...
And first of all, for a lawyer to use that in general, I know that's where we started on this, that is the cojones on that guy to try that.
I almost would hire him just because I think he might be nuts enough to do anything.
Oh, I agree.
Going back also to the first year, can you believe it's almost been a year since a Chinese spy balloon floated across the United States?
What a weird...
I remember when that happened and we were all laughing at it, but then we were all like, well, should we though?
Should we be laughing at the fact that they let that...
That it was able to just kind of sneak on over?
It literally like popped on over, like, hey, just a balloon.
Yeah, and we knew, here's what's worse about that.
We knew when it took off.
You know, remember the whole story?
This has become the whole Biden administration story and also news story, which, you know, I had a podcast just the other day, if you remember, James, in which I was talking about young people's views of Hamas and Israel and how this whole idea of disinformation is out there.
The first off is, well, we knew about it when it got toward Alaska.
And then we said, well, we'll think about doing something when it gets to Montana.
And it just so happened to go across every major installation that dealt with nuclear silos and other things in the United States and also sort of hesitated over those bases.
And now come to find out we knew basically when it left China.
Of course we did.
You don't think we have something?
You're going to tell me that America didn't know something popped off from China and just floated its way over here?
Of course we did.
But it's just crazy.
What state did it end up in that got the big photo?
South Carolina.
From a pure Southern perspective here, it went to Myrtle Beach and got shot down off of it.
And it was crazy because...
Yeah, to just sort of dismiss it like it wasn't a big deal, okay, nothing has resulted in it, and that's great, and we're all very thankful that it hasn't.
That we know of!
Right, exactly, that we know of.
I'm not saying that they dropped secret stuff, but the idea that we let it just fly over America, we wouldn't do that, let alone China, with anything else.
No, no.
But the country that we have had multiple issues with in the last, what, 30 years?
Oh, yeah.
That's like if Russia sends something over, we're like, oh, it's just Russia.
It's fine.
It's not just Russia.
It's not just China.
No one should be able to send that over here.
I agree.
I agree.
Again, going back in the first year, can you believe also Alex Murdoch was sentenced in March of this past year?
Really?
I mean, some of this stuff seems like it was just yesterday.
I mean, you go back to March was the first indictment of Donald Trump by Alvin Bragg up in New York, and he went on to have three more indictments.
You know, you had Joe Biden's, now Hunter Biden's son, indicted, sweetheart deal, blown up, indicted again, now indicted again.
I mean, this is, it's been one of those, again, very weird years.
That has come across the country.
And, you know, also, by the way, we do have the COVID supposed, you know, epidemic is now over.
We did finally finish that out, it looks like.
I mean, hopefully.
Yeah, we will see.
We want to believe.
But we were talking about Hunter Biden.
We can't forget about cocaine in the White House.
That's one of my favorite stories.
Yeah, and to this day, we still...
Oh, well, let me rephrase this.
The public still does not know who left the cocaine in the White House.
No, no, no, no.
No, we do.
We know.
That's still one of my favorite things because of the...
They thought it might have been anthrax at first or whatever.
Yeah, well, they don't know.
And then it was found by a security guard.
It was such an absurd story.
They were like, Hunter Biden was here.
We were all like, oh, got it.
It's his cocaine.
Well, and it's just sort of there when you look at it.
And as someone who has actually been where those are, okay?
I mean, I know where this is.
They know you're in there.
Yeah, there's cameras in every inch of that place.
Everywhere there.
But, okay, again, you would also not think, and this is late in the year, just like within the last week, you would also think that a Senate staffer And I hate to even say this, but I mean, you think the thing that a Senate staffer and his boyfriend, they would have sex on a dais in which the Senate uses for hearings.
I mean, this is just, and nobody knew they were in there?
It's all about the rush, Doug.
That's all they wanted.
They wanted to be famous, they wanted to be on the internet, and they let that happen.
No, but seriously, some people are idiots, Doug.
I mean, we have to remember that part.
We have to remember that very crucial part of life.
Yeah, I mean, hear me clearly.
Whatever they want to do, I don't care what they do.
Just don't throw it in the Capitol building.
Don't do it in the Hart Office building.
But what do we say on this?
What do we say on this show all the time, Doug?
What's the easiest thing not to do?
To slap Chris Rock in public.
What's the easiest thing not to do?
Have sex where they had sex.
Anywhere else would have been fine.
And then to blame it on the fact that they were gay.
No, this is not.
No, no.
That was like...
What's his name?
Who was the guy in House of Cards?
Yeah.
Kevin Spacey, remember?
Kevin Spacey was caught possibly as a child molester and then went, I'm gay.
No, no, no, no, no.
You don't get to use gay people as an excuse.
And then he got, he won his trial in London, I think, on part of that.
So, who knows?
Hey, big news in soccer, which will not bring soccer past the NFL in the United States.
Messi came to MLS Inter-Miami this year.
Yeah, I think the real winner is the grocery store he went to.
You better believe it.
Publix down here is getting a killer.
It's amazing.
Ticket prices just skyrocketed after that.
And then he was hurt.
He didn't play toward the end of the season, did he?
No, he didn't.
And people just paid to go see him in the stands.
But now the new season will kick off in...
Isn't it early spring, I think, when they kick off?
Well, you know what?
This is good, right?
So the prices of tickets to see Lionel Messi, a sport in America that does not really matter, is soccer, right?
Yep.
They're paying absurd...
I mean, Kim Kardashian was there.
Every celebrity that could be there was at these games.
And a football game cost 45 cents the other day to go to, and that was the Atlanta Falcons-Carolina game.
And actually, they got overcharged.
And they got overcharged.
That's right.
For that game, they got overcharged.
I mean, for God's sakes, the mascot was wearing a raincoat.
What the hell's going on in Carolina right now?
They don't know.
And the bad part about it was, is the Falcons over the last two weeks have squandered their position.
And yes, I'm going to say it again.
It's not personal.
It's just business.
It's Clint Eastwood, okay?
It ain't personal.
It's just business.
It's time for a change in Atlanta.
I've been saying this for a while.
Nobody wants to believe me.
He gets a gig on Pat McAfee on every Thursday or Friday, and they happily talk about his mustache, but refuse to ask real questions like, you know, your game is terrible because your play calling is...
Why are you not giving the ball to B. John Robinson?
Yeah.
And Ritter...
Who, in this game, and again, this is the Falcons.
The Falcons started off with a hope and promise this year.
This is a 2023 story.
You know, also, I should have known that this year was going to be a lot of travel for me when I actually watched the Super Bowl on a plane going from Atlanta to Portland.
Oh, yeah.
That should have been key number one.
That should have been a tip-off that planes were going to be my life this year.
But, you know, Arthur Smith, we get this.
You get a football season.
Yeah.
That you look at.
Speaking of which, though, one that we're just randomly talking about in 2023, the rise of Pat McAfee.
I mean, it's an explosion.
He joined, he gets, I mean, he, what is he, the fourth?
I think he was voted divorce the fourth year.
Most entertaining sports, you know, entertainer, I guess, would be the right word.
For lack of a better one, I think Shannon Sharp was number one.
Stephen A. was number two.
I don't know who number three was.
I'm assuming it's probably, like, maybe Dog or something like that.
But, like, he's gonna...
I don't know what anyone would say.
He is his own thing and no one can copy him and that's what makes him great.
I will say this though.
Nothing's been said about next year.
He made a little bit of allusion to it toward the end of the year about the game day.
I personally think he's crazy if he doesn't come back to game day.
No, you're right.
That moment where he picked Alabama over Georgia, that's going to be forever.
That's forever.
That's one of the best things I've ever seen.
Yeah, I had a hard two weeks.
I didn't mind it as much right at the time, but when he explained why he did it about a week later, that's when I had my problem.
But I've gotten better.
I've let it go.
But you have to admit, it was hilarious.
It was hilarious, but when you heard why he did it, it was vindictive.
Sure!
Yeah, because the people didn't care about him in Georgia.
You know, David Pollock, and they thought they were blaming him, and he said, well, fine, I'll get you.
And, you know, it's like, okay, that's a little beneath you, Pat.
Come on, buddy.
You know, I get it.
Yeah, you're probably right.
But also, I mean, David Pollock, okay, can we just, David Pollock is the most white bread, boring human being ever.
Every time he spoke, I was like, alright, thanks for...
I mean, they might as well...
They could literally replace him with a piece of corn.
Some of these guys are just...
What?
yeah I did not Who was the second guy?
Oh, oh, okay, okay.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Listen, old age, catch it, father time gets everybody.
Yeah.
It's not easy.
I mean, I'm always baffled that Bill Belichick and Greg Popovich can coach at a high level, but we look at their teams and they're not doing well.
And I'm not saying that's the reason.
I'm just saying father time catches up to everyone, even coaches.
It does.
And speaking of which, 2023, the year Belichick may leave New England.
Yeah, you know, man, what an insanely fascinating...
situation there that basically he signed a contract at the beginning of the year and now he's almost ready to be booted out of the door.
The whole thing in New England...
Also, again, anyone if you're a New England fan, I don't feel bad for you in any way whatsoever.
Please stop complaining.
You have six championships.
Please, for God's sake, stop complaining about what's going on right now.
Yeah, you'll get there.
But if we're going to talk sports and we're going to talk 2023...
Yes, she was the time person of the year.
We have to, as much as this sort of pains me, Taylor Swift.
The future Mrs. Taylor Swift Kelsey.
Honestly, honestly, Doug, do you remember when we were talking about the Errors Tour?
Yeah, March 17th.
We discussed the Errors Tour, right?
Yeah.
And we were talking about it, and we were talking about how she was giving her truck drivers like 100k a piece.
Oh, yeah.
And the vendors and all that was beautiful.
And then it died down a little bit, but we were still like, Taylor Swift is in every single state.
Look where she is.
Oh my God.
You better hide.
Lock your doors.
Taylor Swift's coming to town.
And then it died down for like 30 seconds before Travis Kelsey said, I shot my shot with Taylor.
It didn't work.
And then everyone was like, oh, okay.
Then what, three weeks later?
That might not even be true.
Right, yeah.
I don't even care what's true.
What I do care about is that love is in the air.
Love is in the air.
Love is in the air.
Travis Kelsey and Taylor Swift.
Taylor Swift has taken over football.
Did you see the thing about Al Michaels?
Oh yeah, they suppose they're in trouble because of that, yeah.
Yeah, he said we can't make the sideshow the show.
I love Al Michaels, but how dare you talk about Taylor Swift that way.
No, no, no, no.
I'm just kidding.
You know why they took him off?
Because he's boring on Thursday nights.
It's like listening to someone great cheese.
It's over, man.
Move on.
He's actually a really good guy.
Oh, sure.
I'm sure he's an excellent person.
Oh, did you see?
It looks like Taylor's also gotten into actual football now.
Did you see?
And then from 2023 going from the beginning of the year where she just didn't know anything until this past weekend where she's yelling at the refs because her boyfriend got pushed in the end zone.
That's right.
That's what you're supposed to do.
Hey, there you go.
I mean, she's there.
The more football fans, the better, even if it's Taylor Swift.
It has been funny, though.
The Kelsey brothers, they're doing part of their podcast is a primer for Swifties on football.
Yeah.
They said, let's get the entire audience.
They can't lose.
The Kelsey brothers are going to be the richest two people on the planet at some point.
I mean, it's amazing.
They have...
I mean, and someone is explaining that is listening to Jason Kelsey trying to explain, like, what is a down?
You know, it's just hilarious.
But...
But anyway, but also, like I said, she got the ears to her.
She also has a movie, and there are more dates coming in 2024 in the U.S. and internationally.
And also, as we can take here a moment on the Taylor Swift bandwagon, Her workout that got leaked or they put out on what she did to get ready for the Ears Tour, an ultra runner, I saw this story the other day, an ultra marathoner did her workout in which she would run and sing the songs.
She'd go faster.
She'd run faster on the faster songs, slower on the slower songs.
This ultramarathoner had trouble getting through it, and supposedly Taylor did this every day for like two or three months to get ready for the thing.
That's insane.
Yeah, it's pretty wild.
If anybody's out there looking up Taylor Swift workout, it's pretty wild.
She just sings her heart out while she's marathon running?
While she's on the treadmill, yeah.
Oh, it's on the treadmill?
It's a three and a half hour thing.
Oh, that's so boring.
It's a three and a half hour thing.
Oh, my God.
Yeah.
You know what?
That's psychotic behavior, but I also really love it.
Yeah, it's pretty impressive.
Um...
Anyway, one of the things we need to get to is, again, lots of stuff going on in the world that we could laugh about.
I mean, we've had albino alligators, in which James has actually been to the place where they have them.
May know the lineage of it.
May know the lineage of it.
We've had peacocks get out in the Bronx Zoo.
We've had Dallas Zoo.
Nobody knows what's going on at the Dallas Zoo.
And we lost our pandas this year.
Yeah, I mean, it's been a banner year for the Doug Collins Podcast and Animals.
I mean, that's just...
I mean, I'm looking for an award from some animal organization here.
Yeah, whatever Instagram we have to start for Doug Collins Podcast slash We Got Your Info on Animals.
Yeah, we're there for you.
And, by the way, it's been a good year on the deer hunting trail.
We got one with a bow and one with a gun, and we've still got some more time.
Now, are you a food guy or a put-it-on-the-wall guy?
No, well, I got two does, so I got food.
I didn't really see a buck that I wanted to shoot.
But even if I did, I would still eat.
All right, that's what I'm talking about.
So, Doug, when do I come to Georgia to eat?
And who's cooking?
In fact, I just got some more.
In fact, I got the second one in the freezer this past weekend.
Do you cook it yourself?
Do you do all the work?
Yeah, we'll cook it.
Yep, get it all done.
I love that so much.
And one of the best things we've had, we've already had some of it this year.
And if you know my beautiful bride, she doesn't like cheese that much at all, really.
And that's a whole different situation for my sister-in-law, which we'll not discuss here on the podcast.
But it just was a funny story.
But back during the football season, I made some deer queso.
And it is really good.
Take chips, dip that stuff in there.
Oh, it's good stuff.
So wait, let me ask you something.
Do you know how to, like, straight up field dress a deer?
I do.
See, this is what I'm talking about, Doug.
I will not survive the apocalypse because of stuff like that.
Yeah.
I'm going to need, so I'm coming to Georgia whenever it goes down.
I'm coming.
I got the lake right in the back.
We can go fishing.
We can do that.
But also, this year, frankly, as well, also, we've had Michael Waddell on the show.
Mike, the bone collector.
I mean, he was great.
I mean, we've had some great guests this year on the show.
Oh, yeah.
Great mix of a lot of folks for those out there who want politics, who want life, who want everything else.
This is the place to be as we go forward into next year.
As we look back on it, though, let's turn our attention here quickly, though, James, that it has been a year in which we have, as always, you and I started off looking at it.
It's like the amazing amount of Oh, my God.
Matthew Perry, you know, famous for Chandler being on Friends, died at age 54. Rosalind Carter, this is one sort of close to home here in Georgia.
Rosalind Carter died at 96. What is amazing about that is that her and Jimmy had been married, I want to say like 70-something years.
And Jimmy is still alive.
President Carter is still alive.
39th president of the United States.
Now think about this.
We're getting ready to elect the 47th president of the United States.
He was the 39th.
Yeah.
I mean, so he was, and also he's the oldest now as well.
But, you know, we've had others out there this year.
Cindy Williams from Laverne and Shirley passed away this year.
What was the one you met?
You had one that David Crosby, Crosby, Stills, and Nash.
Lisa Marie Presley at 54. Jimmy Buffet.
Jimmy Buffet.
Another one.
Let's see.
Bob Barker was...
Oh yeah, Bob Barker.
I'm sorry, what was that?
Also Jeff Beck, the guitarist.
Jeff Beck.
I saw him in concert with Eric Clapton at the Garden.
One of the best concerts I've ever been to.
I don't usually like concerts where you have to sit down and not move, but it was worth it for that concert.
He was incredible.
What was one you mentioned right before that?
Bob Barker.
Yeah, Bob Barker.
Bob Barker is a generational...
Bob Barker is...
you know you made it in life when you become the...
Basically, you're ingrained into the thought...
Everybody would say, The Price is Right, Bob Barker.
They say Bob Barker.
In his movie, when he was in the movie with Adam Sandler, Happy Gilmore.
Oh yeah, when he punches Adam Sandler.
That's one of the best scenes ever.
Oh, it is.
It is classic as we go.
Burt Bacharach, for the older in the audience.
Amazing.
94 years old.
Raquel Welch.
Set off many a heartbeat of young people.
82, by the way, when she passed away.
Let's see.
Oh, Richard Belzer.
Anybody remember?
This should be close for the home for you up there.
Richard Belzer.
Law and Order.
Yes!
Yeah, that stunk.
I mean, we recently just lost Andre Brower, who was on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and a lot of other shows.
He was a great actor.
Norman Lear, someone who broke...
I mean, he was huge for black television, I mean, in the 70s.
He was massive.
I mean, we could spend a lot on Norman Lear.
He just saw Funny, and he knew it was, and that was that.
But also, the way he would do it...
Made such an impact.
And, you know, when you had the stuff that, you know, he would put on over the years, I mean, this is somebody that, you know, it was just iconic, I guess is the best way to put it.
And, you know, with those stories, you know, again, lost a pretty...
Amazing individual just recently.
The biggest one to me was Norman Lear.
And you have to understand this in a first time.
The 70s was the beginning of the breakthrough from the old 50s, 60s, Leave it to Beaver, I Dream of Jeannie, Combat, Matt Patrolla, to the shows that began to push the envelope.
And we've talked about this on the podcast before, James, where if you see it in...
Movies and TV wait for it to become considered mainstream thought within, you know, three to five years.
And you saw this a lot starting in the 70s, in which you started the 60s, 70s with the very...
Non-flattering, I guess is the best way to put it, African-American shows to where they began to be portrayed as they are many times in life, in more mainstream, middle class.
But one of the biggest stories in movies or TVs was All in the Family.
Yeah.
And what is interesting is now All in the Family is making its way on like clips on like YouTube and Instagram and others with, you know, Carol O'Connor and the stuff that he would say and that he'd get into it with Rob Reiner who's still around.
And some of the things, it is amazing, James, and I know this is a little bit harder for some maybe to understand, but What he was saying back then was common.
And to hear it today, it's like, ooh, ooh.
They were tackling actual issues.
Big time issues.
Major issues in America that we still...
I mean, there's probably some we're still fighting today.
I don't know.
Obviously, I wasn't young enough to watch the show.
I wasn't alive.
But just the way my parents always described it to me, and they put some of the shows on, but the issues they tackled...
And then there was a show like Sanford and Son, which, not that they didn't tackle issues, but that was just pure...
That was just like...
Every moment was the funniest moment in that show.
If you see some of Red Fox in Sanford and Son now...
No, no.
He would be arrested.
But it's some of the funniest stuff I've ever watched.
Literally, my dad raised me on that show because it was his favorite show.
It was incredible.
Well, you had the Jeffersons, you had All in the Family.
The Jeffersons, I grew up on watching as well, the Jeffersons.
Good times.
There was a show called Mod, which was a spinoff.
Right, which was a spinoff.
But it was, I mean, it was talking sex.
I mean, we were back in the time when, you know, you had the seven words you can't say on TV. Not anymore, bud.
Yeah, not anymore, which I'm not sure we're better for or worse for at this point.
But it says, the shows took issue, and there's a story about this, and it said, there were issues that were at the heart of the American inequality and struggle on the American side.
He tackled everything from homophobia, sexism, racism, you name it.
And he did.
And it really...
You know, an amazing kind of time.
Again, we can learn so much.
And this brings up something, and I'm going to interject it right here on this as we end, talking about somebody's death.
But it's also very disturbing to me that we can look back on these shows and see where we come from.
They don't need to disappear.
It really bothers me now.
I mean, we've seen a lot of statues coming down.
We've seen a lot of whatever.
And I get it out there.
People, well, this was a burden of racism.
You're doing something.
Part of this is also history that you don't want to forget.
And I made a social post this week.
And it basically said, it was this.
It's an old adage.
And I just regretted it again.
And so I posted it on Twitter.
And I said, nothing is new.
It is just forgotten.
And I really wonder how much—this is scary to me because, you know, as I talked about in a previous podcast, if young people don't know the story of Israel and Palestine, they don't understand what Israel's going through and Gaza and the destruction, and they're making an uninformed decision on it because they're basically ignorant of the consequences, if we tend to forget that there was a racist past here, if we tend to forget That there was a struggle and is a struggle among race and inequality.
We can't do this.
That's why I enjoy, I like reading about, it's amazing how many times I read history books and see the things being repeated again.
And it's like, folks, we need to learn from this.
And one that triggered for me this week was they're taking away the reconciliation A statue or fountain, whatever it is, in Arlington National Cemetery that was done about 50 years after the Civil War that was both Confederate and it was signifying the Union coming back together and they're taking it down.
I don't...
What's the...
Did they give the purpose?
I don't know.
I didn't see anything about this.
It had something to do with...
It had Confederacy on it.
Does it have the Confederate flag on it?
I think it had Confederate soldiers.
I think it was with it.
But it was a reconciliation.
The idea is that we were coming back together to become a United States, right?
That's the idea of it?
Yes.
Here's my thought, right?
If it's that damaging, and if you believe that, fine, whatever.
Let's not even get into that part of it.
If you don't want to put it there, fine, but it should be displayed in a museum or something.
I always thought those things, no matter what the consequences of it, if you really hate it, there's a Confederate general who did atrocious things, but he is being put in a Times Square or something, right?
Remove that and put it somewhere, and then Post what the beliefs were behind what he was doing and put a history lesson to it so people know, no, this man might not have been a good person, but this is why he did what he did.
That's important to me.
Everyone should know that stuff.
Because if you're just saying, oh, this person's bad or this person's good, there's good and bad in every person.
I'm not saying that someone who owns slaves is a good person.
I'm not going to get into that conversation.
They're not.
But the idea that you could possibly just give a history lesson on it Might be good for everybody.
Yeah, it's bad.
And, you know, this is a, you know, it's not celebrating the Confederacy.
It's actually, you know, again, the memorial was dedicated to American unity following the Civil War, rather than honoring the Confederacy, that it would desecrate the grace.
Of Confederate troops there.
I mean, it's just, I don't know.
Look, again, did it make it go away?
I mean, a legitimate question here.
I believe that if there's something offensive that is just, you know, like you said, sort of blatantly offensive, like, you know, students yelling at Jewish students on campus these days that they're in favor of Israeli genocide, that's not hate speech.
Have we gotten this far?
I mean, taking down these statues, especially that have been there forever and others, I mean, if it makes you feel better, okay.
But I'm also wondering, what did it help?
And my only concern is after I see some of these polls of young people who have no idea what went on in our country, I think it should show that racism is bad, that the keeping of slaves was horrible.
That the conditions need to be improved, that we need to take each person as someone made in God's image.
That's what we need to be focused on.
And that we had that in our past is something, yes, we can be ashamed of, but at the same point in time, we say, look, that's what we don't ever want to be again.
Again, it's just very frustrating to me when you look at this and just simply say, I mean, we renamed this year many of our military bases, most of which could not have told you that Fort Hood in Texas was named for a Confederate general.
They couldn't have told you that, I mean, Benning and others.
So again, we'll see where it goes.
But I hope for a better country in which we learn from past mistakes.
We don't try to remove them from our national consciousness because if we remove them, there will be some people who will forget them.
That's right.
All right.
A few more.
Gary Rawson, the last original member of Leonard Skinner, passed away this year.
Tom Sizemore, many movies including Saving Private Ryan, Bike Hawk Down.
Great act if you like the war movies kind of stuff.
Pee Wee Herman passed away this year.
And Jerry Springer, who's actually, many people don't realize this, he was actually the mayor of Cincinnati.
That's right.
Which is just so weird.
It is.
It's just Mayor of Cincinnati and then the television host of one of the craziest shows that's ever existed.
They may be responsible for destroying the minds of many young children, like myself.
No, it was hilarious.
It's the funniest show ever.
Someone that I had the privilege of meeting, Jim Brown, passed away.
Really?
You met Jim Brown?
I did, on a couple of occasions, actually.
And I had a chance to sit down and talk with him.
Really interesting, very solid individual.
He was there.
The queen of rock and roll, Tina Turner, passed away this year.
That's right.
As we go forward, looking at it, you have Iron Sheik passed away, for those who grew up on WWE, on wrestling, going forward.
Younger actresses and actresses.
A lot of, as I was going through these, a lot that I don't remember.
I don't know, but there are a lot of younger actors and songwriters and stuff that passed away this year.
Sinead O'Connor, by the way, passed away at 56. It's hard to believe she's 56 when she passed away.
Her big hit was in 1992, I believe it was, or early 1990s with Nothing Compares to You.
And then she had Robbie Robertson of the band passed away.
Michael Parkinson, a famous interviewer from Europe.
I will mention one person that's near and dear to my heart, and that's Bud Grant.
Bud Grant, yep.
The great Vikings coach of the 70s.
The sleeveless wonder.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, he was the toughest man who's ever probably been in Minnesota, and that's saying a lot.
Yeah, great guy.
Michelle Tafoya, who's a great friend of the podcast, has been on before.
Michelle and Bud Grant were very good friends as well.
And Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville.
That's right.
Passed away.
Dreamweaver, Gary Wright, if you remember the song from the 80s.
Alan Arkin, great actor.
If you don't know Alan Arkin, just look him up and you'll see some of these great shows.
Ron Cephas Jones, another one that was, you know, just see his acting abilities.
We mentioned Pee Wee Herman.
Tony Bennett, by the way.
Tony Bennett passed away, age 96. Born Anthony...
Great Tony Bennett.
Benito in Astoria, Queens, in August 3rd, 1926. Great guy.
And sad gone too soon, Steve Harwell from Smash Mouth.
Yeah, Steve Farwell.
That was a weird one.
Tony Bennett was voted among MTV listeners as one of the most admired people in show business.
And somebody asked why these 20-year-olds and teens were voting Tony Bennett, you know, who was singing with Lady Gaga and some of these others.
And he would always show up in his tux.
He would always sing in the style that he was singing in.
And they asked him, why would you think he was so, you know, so admired?
He said, they said, because he never tried to be anything he wasn't.
Hell yeah.
I thought that was pretty impressive.
I'm going to get that tattooed on my neck.
Yeah.
Never try to be anything you're not.
That should be the lesson of 2023. Yeah, that's it.
Ryan O'Neill.
Yeah, for some of these folks, as it goes, Ryan O'Neill passed away this year and star of the 70s, many of the 80s, also married to Farrah Fawcett, who I believe passed away, what, a year or two ago.
Well, folks, that is a good, fun look back on 2023. James and I always enjoy being a part.
We've had some great...
Also, this year, in the podcast world, we have actually added Friday's Finest with our friendship, Blake.
That has been a blast.
Oh, yeah.
He's been huge.
Real upgrade to the show.
We've had.
We can bring in the chipper, and we get it out.
We've got a lot of great things coming up for 2024, but glad to have you with us.
Go out now and enjoy.
Hopefully, we've made your time pass in the...
Security line, if you're waiting at the airport listing on your iPad or your iPhone, or if you're driving to Grandma's house, whatever it may be, go have a great holiday season.
We'll see you next week.
Remember, Monday, a special episode of the Doug Collins Podcast.
This will be one on Christmas after all the presents are open, everybody sitting around, maybe being quiet.
Put on, grab the family, grab everybody around.
You're going to want to listen to A Candle in the Forest.
It's a great way to sum up the Christmas season, and we'll encourage you to listen on Monday to the Doug Collins Podcast.
We'll have our annual reading of A Candle in the Forest.
You don't want to miss it.
Until then, James, thanks for everything, and we'll see you next time.
Yeah, happy 2024, Merry Christmas, and every other holiday that exists.
Ready to go.
▲
Export Selection