The Glenn Beck Program - Best of The Program | Guests: Ian Smith & Brent Underwood | 5/21/20 Aired: 2020-05-21 Duration: 27:25 === New Jersey Gym Owner's Defense Fund (12:57) === [00:00:00] Welcome to the podcast. [00:00:00] Today we talk to a gym owner in New Jersey. [00:00:03] You may have seen the video where the you know the cop comes in and he basically says he's not going to arrest anyone and the crowd goes crazy. [00:00:10] There's an unfortunate development in that story we'll talk to you about. [00:00:14] Also, we discuss the developments with Joe Biden and Ukraine. [00:00:19] We have recordings now of conversations between Biden, John Kerry, and Poroshenko, the former president. [00:00:27] We'll get into those. [00:00:28] James Rollins, who's a huge fiction author, best-selling fiction author, he comes on and talks about what he's learned with his research about these diseases and the people who robbed a bank with a watermelon mask. [00:00:43] It's all coming up today on the podcast. [00:00:45] Make sure you subscribe at blazetv.com/slash Glenn. [00:00:47] Use the promo code Glenn for 10 bucks off and subscribe on the podcast to not only this one, rate and review it as well, but also Stu Does America. [00:00:56] You can always watch every episode of that. [00:00:58] Also on YouTube, just go to YouTube, search for Stu, and I'll be the first one there. [00:01:01] Here's the podcast. [00:01:02] You're listening to The Best of the Glenn Beck Program. [00:01:17] All right, so last night I did a TV show on the new civil rights era, and I think we are in a civil rights crisis. [00:01:29] I think we are headed for trouble because some of these states are absolutely out of control. [00:01:37] Thank God it's not coming from the federal government. [00:01:40] Thank God we have the federal government to run to and say, hey, Justice Department, can you investigate this? [00:01:47] So do you remember? [00:01:48] I think it was on Monday when we played the audio of that cop in New Jersey opening up the gym in New Jersey, the Attilas gym, and he said, you're all in violation, but have a nice day. [00:02:04] And I said on the air, it feels like a do you believe in miracles moment? [00:02:10] You know, kind of that moment of the Olympics in the 1980s. [00:02:15] Well, I got an update for you. [00:02:17] That same cop, that same guy, came back to the gym 50 minutes later and started arresting people. [00:02:26] After the cameras had gone, he comes back and starts arresting people. [00:02:30] Now, I don't know what happened. [00:02:32] I don't know if he got his head handed to him. [00:02:34] I don't know. [00:02:35] But I mean, it shows at very at the best, it shows he believed in something, then got his head handed to him, and he folded on what he believes. [00:02:46] I don't know if that, I don't know what happened, but somebody who might is the owner of the Attilas gym. [00:02:53] His name is Ian Smith because he's got even more bad news. [00:02:58] This gym has now officially been closed. [00:03:01] Ian, welcome to the program. [00:03:02] How are you? [00:03:04] I'm good, Glenn. [00:03:04] How are you? [00:03:07] I'd be better if your story was better. [00:03:10] First of all, let's start with a cop. [00:03:13] Do you know anything about this cop or how did he leave a hero and come back 50 minutes later and start arresting people? [00:03:25] We are very close-knit with local law enforcement at our gym. [00:03:29] Our gym is full of law enforcement, first responders, active and veteran military. [00:03:37] Sure. [00:03:38] A lot of these guys, you know, we know on a very personal level. [00:03:41] I have never met that individual, although, I mean, I guess now I know him. [00:03:49] He came and that first sort of video clip where everybody was rejoicing and chanting USA, USA, USA was what I believe to be his true feelings. [00:04:01] When he came back later, about 50 minutes later, it just so happened to be about 10 minutes before Governor Murphy's press conference. [00:04:08] So that leads me to believe, along with a lot of the other stuff that we've been hearing, that this stuff is coming straight down from the top, that these guys are being put in a position where they have to choose between their jobs and their tensions and their livelihoods. [00:04:27] These guys got to stand up. [00:04:30] Police officers, please, the people will stand with you. [00:04:34] We'll stand with you. [00:04:36] You've got to stand up and risk your job. [00:04:40] And I know that's a really big thing, but I'm telling you, the Justice Department will go all over this. [00:04:47] If people start firing our cops like they did in Seattle for just speaking out or doing the right thing, A, it's going to work out well for you in the end because I think that cop in Seattle, he could be a sheriff anywhere. [00:05:00] People would elect him in any decent city. [00:05:04] You know, not Seattle, but they would elect him sheriff. [00:05:08] He'll get another job. [00:05:09] It will pay tenfold if you just stand. [00:05:13] Okay, so now you found out last night that the health department came out and put notices all over your door that you are not allowed to open up because of the health department. [00:05:26] Tell me about that. [00:05:28] Correct. [00:05:29] So yesterday, Governor Murphy in his press conference addressed the gym, and he said he mentioned something about continuing to pursue us legally, which I think he knows, although he won't publicly admit it, that he has no legal grounds to shut us down, that we are protected by the Constitution, and that no matter what he says in his executive orders or how many citations that he's handed us, which is three days for us now. [00:05:57] So we're up to a, me and my partner are up to, I think, I think seven each. [00:06:02] Seven grand each. [00:06:04] No, seven tickets each. [00:06:06] Seven tickets each, okay. [00:06:07] Yeah, so I think Governor Murphy truly knows that he doesn't have a leg to stand on where that's concerned. [00:06:13] So he's, you know, he's resorted and he very, very publicly stated that he's going to get the health department involved. [00:06:20] Coincidentally, about two hours later, our sewage system was sabotaged by somebody stuffing an entire roll of commercial paper towels down into our toilets to the point where we did have to shut down the gym for the day. [00:06:36] Oh, my God. [00:06:37] Backflowing. [00:06:39] So we are investigating how that happens. [00:06:41] But we had three different plumbing crews come out last night that had to bring in some legit equipment, not just like a snake and a plunger, but we had these specialized trucks that had to come in and blast water into our pipes in order to clear it out. [00:06:55] And they finally got that resolved. [00:06:57] But they confirmed that that was very clearly, purposely done. [00:07:01] That wasn't, you know, oops, I flushed one piece of paper down the toilet. [00:07:06] It was quite deliberate. [00:07:08] So we spent the night doing that. [00:07:10] Frank and I left at about nine o'clock. [00:07:13] And in the middle of the night, somebody had, I guess, was kind of passing the gym and they saw that there were four squad cars here in the middle of the night, as well as some other unmarked vehicles posting some stuff on the wall. [00:07:26] And we have some pictures of that that we actually just handed over to Fox 29 News posting this stuff on the wall in the middle of the night. [00:07:34] And it is basically an order of embargo, it says. [00:07:38] And the health code violations, we looked them up, are extremely vague. [00:07:42] There's nothing specific that we did to violate. [00:07:46] And in addition to that, no health department official has ever stepped foot inside of our building as long as we've owned it. [00:07:54] So the wording in it is very vague. [00:07:56] It just refers to coronavirus spreading and stuff like that. [00:08:00] But we're the only business in the entire strip mall that seems to be closed. [00:08:06] So it's a little baffling. [00:08:09] I don't understand how they can come in and shut us down without even inspecting our facilities. [00:08:14] There's things on there that mention poor ventilation. [00:08:17] If you would just step inside our facilities, we have an air scrubber inside. [00:08:21] We have an HVAC system that works perfectly fine. [00:08:25] The facility is ventilated. [00:08:26] There's a ton of measures that we've taken. [00:08:28] So it's flimsy at best, and we have our lawyers working on it, and we plan to open up tomorrow. [00:08:35] I have to tell you, Ian, I'm about to lose my mind, and I think America feels the same way. [00:08:40] I talked to a woman yesterday. [00:08:42] She's a salon owner. [00:08:45] They said they were going to arrest her. [00:08:47] This is in Oregon. [00:08:48] They didn't arrest her. [00:08:49] They have threatened to pull her business license. [00:08:53] Yeah. [00:08:53] And then they sent child protective services to her house. [00:08:58] That's crazy. [00:09:00] This is such an abuse of power. [00:09:03] That was going to happen to us as well. [00:09:06] We have a 15-year-old at home, and it keeps her up at night all of the potential blowback from this because she stands behind me or at my side with all of this. [00:09:22] It's pretty scary when government organizations are weaponized against the public. [00:09:27] The Department of Health is there to protect us. [00:09:31] And for the most part, that's what they do as their job. [00:09:33] But these governors are weaponizing these organizations that are meant to protect the public to enforce their will. [00:09:42] And that's a pretty scary thing. [00:09:43] And then the same thing with Child Protective Services. [00:09:46] That organization is there to protect children, but it's being used in the case of the salon owner in Oregon as a weapon against her. [00:09:57] And that's pretty alarming. [00:10:00] That's very scary. [00:10:02] Ian, stay in touch with us. [00:10:04] Let us know what's happening. [00:10:06] Don't let a day go by. [00:10:08] If they're upping it, if they're using another weapon, make sure you reach out to us, okay? [00:10:14] Absolutely. [00:10:14] I'll keep you guys in touch. [00:10:17] And what is the GoFundMe page if people want to help you with your legal bills? [00:10:24] So the GoFundMe was set up by one of our members, and that is a defense fund, not only for us as owners, but we have a bunch of members slash volunteers who have been helping us stay open during this time, as well as all of our members. [00:10:41] Because some of them have been arrested and charged, we have set up that legal fund, and our lawyers have agreed to represent everybody. [00:10:49] So that's going to pay for the costs of the lawyers, as well as any fines or punishment incurred by any member or patron of the facility or any volunteer as well. [00:11:00] And that's available on our social media. [00:11:03] There's a link on our Instagram, which is AttilisGym Belmar. [00:11:08] So, yeah, and we're going to keep pushing forward. [00:11:12] We're definitely not going to back down. [00:11:13] And we are very thankful that our members stand behind us as well. [00:11:16] And we're going to stand with them. [00:11:19] Good. [00:11:19] Good for you. [00:11:20] Thank you very much. [00:11:20] Theatilisgym.com. [00:11:23] You can find them also and help them with their GoFundMe page. [00:11:26] You bet. [00:11:26] I want to thank Patriot Mobile. [00:11:28] In addition to their generous support of Mercury One during these troubled times, Patriot Mobile has gone above and beyond to help Americans stay in touch with their loved ones during this lockdown. [00:11:38] And they've done it by lowering their prices even further. [00:11:41] Right now, their U.S.-based team is standing by to design with you a customized family plan that can start at only $25. [00:11:49] Now, Patriot Mobile shares your values and they'll never charge you for hidden fees. [00:11:53] And unlike Big Mobile, they're not going to send your hard-earned money to places like Planned Parenthood or leftist causes. [00:11:59] So you can get the same reliable nationwide service and support a company that shares your values, supports our Constitution, and puts people before profits. [00:12:09] Switching is super easy. [00:12:10] Right now, when you join their family of freedom-loving Americans, they will waive the activation fee plus send you a free gift with the offer code Beck. [00:12:17] That's 972 Patriot. [00:12:19] You're going to save a buttload of money. [00:12:20] It's patriotmobile.com/slash back. [00:12:23] 972 Patriot or PatriotMobile.com/slash Beck. [00:12:29] the best of the program so there's a lot of news that is not being reported uh A lot of things like we have talked about the trouble of child abuse and domestic abuse in homes that nobody is reporting. [00:12:50] But the New York Post finally is thinking about the average person. === Coexisting With Town Ghosts (08:39) === [00:12:57] They've just released a story. [00:12:59] People stuck in haunted homes during quarantine are reporting now a rise in spooky happenings. [00:13:09] Now, this story is written by Natalie O'Neill, who, Natalie, good for you for taking on those big. [00:13:16] Yes, you're in New York. [00:13:17] Yes, you could be reporting on the spooky happenings around Cuomo and how everybody old around him seems to die. [00:13:25] But no, you got the real important story: the spooky happenings in haunted houses. [00:13:31] I was intrigued by this story, and I wanted to reach out to one of the guys who is mentioned in this story. [00:13:37] His name is Brent Underwood. [00:13:40] He is the owner of Cero Gordo. [00:13:42] It's a ghost town. [00:13:44] And he says, I don't believe in ghosts, but spooky happenings have happened. [00:13:51] Brent Underwood, welcome to the program. [00:13:53] How are you, sir? [00:13:54] Good morning. [00:13:55] I'm doing pretty good. [00:13:56] How are you? [00:13:57] Well, I'm pretty good. [00:13:58] Now, you bought an abandoned silver mine, right? [00:14:03] And is this in Nevada or is this California? [00:14:07] Where is this? [00:14:09] It's about three hours outside of LA, so it's in California. [00:14:13] It's kind of right by Mount Whitney, if that gives you a point of reference, in between Death Valley and Sequoia National Park. [00:14:20] Okay, what a, what a, what a wild place. [00:14:23] Death Valley and Sequoia National Park, right next to each other is crazy. [00:14:28] So, so tell me, you bought this, and it looks beautiful. [00:14:32] You bought this a while back. [00:14:35] You had heard the stories of the ghost town and everything else, but you don't buy into any of that stuff, do you? [00:14:41] No, I mean, I bought it about two years ago with some friends, and it was a town that at one point in time was the largest producer of Silver, California. [00:14:49] So there was 4,000 residents. [00:14:51] All the people were telling me that there used to be a murder per week in the town, and the miners used to line their bunk bags with sandbags to stop the straight bullets in the middle of the night. [00:15:01] And so even stuff like that, or there's a cemetery on site. [00:15:05] And so the ghost stories were abundant before buying it, but I kind of brushed them all away. [00:15:12] I guess I should say I wasn't a ghost believer. [00:15:15] But then about two months ago when the COVID crisis hit, our caretaker, we typically have a live-in caretaker that lives here, he wanted to go home to be with his wife. [00:15:26] So I packed up my stuff in Austin, where I typically live, and headed out. [00:15:30] And I've been here ever since. [00:15:34] And so you say you weren't a believer in ghosts, and now you are. [00:15:38] What happened? [00:15:40] I think it goes in increments. [00:15:42] At first, it's easy to push away these things and rationalize them away, but I think my first entry into that sphere was one night I was walking to watch the sunset, and there's 22 buildings here, so there's quite a few buildings. [00:15:54] And one of the buildings is called the bunk house, and it's an eight-bedroom house that all the miners used to stay in when they lived here. [00:16:01] And as I was going past, I noticed something in the living room that opened up the curtain and closed the curtain, and the light was on in the living room. [00:16:09] And I hadn't noticed the light had been on in that building before. [00:16:12] So I went in there and I turned off the light and I put a padlock on the door. [00:16:18] And keep in mind, I'm the only one with the key to this, to the padlock. [00:16:22] And the town's about 30 miles from the closest town. [00:16:24] And we're up at 800 feet, 8,000 feet in elevation. [00:16:27] So it's not like there's squatters in there or neighbors or anything that might be messing around. [00:16:32] And so I turned off the light, went about my day, watched the sunset, not a big deal. [00:16:36] Next night, I went back to go to the sunset again, and the light was on again in the living room. [00:16:42] And so I unpadlocked it, and not only was the light on, the switch was back up. [00:16:46] So to me, at first, you jump to like, oh, sure, it was faulty electricity, you know, this or that. [00:16:50] But I think being alone in a town with a history like this, it definitely raised my kind of like, I guess, inner questions, I guess I should say. [00:17:01] And then a couple nights later in the house. [00:17:04] All right. [00:17:05] No, go ahead. [00:17:05] Go ahead. [00:17:06] A couple nights later. [00:17:07] So a couple nights later, I was at the house that I was staying in. [00:17:12] In the middle of the night, this is probably like three or four in the morning, a book fell off the shelf. [00:17:16] And again, this is a house that there's no draft. [00:17:18] I have no pets up here. [00:17:19] I don't have a cat. [00:17:20] I don't have a dog. [00:17:21] There's no rat. [00:17:22] And then as I woke up, I just had this overwhelming sense that something else is in the house with me. [00:17:27] And when I did this, I instinctually just looked towards the ground. [00:17:30] I thought maybe it was like an animal of some type, but nothing there. [00:17:34] And I just couldn't escape the feeling. [00:17:36] And then after that, there's a pretty quick succession that things are moving around. [00:17:40] I wallet went from one house to the other house and just all these things that I couldn't explain. [00:17:44] Where if you're there sitting alone in the middle of the night in a town 30 miles from anybody else, you start jumping to conclusions, I guess. [00:17:53] Yeah, so that's what I was going to ask you, Brent. [00:17:55] I mean, you know, you're in a town where there are stories of ghosts and you're all by yourself in the middle of nowhere. [00:18:04] I mean, I freak out. [00:18:05] I have a cabin in the middle of absolutely nowhere as well. [00:18:08] And I've been there by myself at times. [00:18:10] And when I'm there by myself, honestly, I keep my gun close because at night, you just start hearing things and you're like, I don't know, man. [00:18:19] What was that? [00:18:19] What was that? [00:18:21] And do you think this, I mean, was just playing with you? [00:18:24] Your mind was playing with you? [00:18:27] Maybe a little bit, but I think, I mean, similar to your gun, I keep a golf club in the bed with me. [00:18:31] I don't know how effective golf clubs are against ghosts, you know, we'll find out. [00:18:36] Guns, too. [00:18:37] Right. [00:18:40] I definitely try to rationalize away. [00:18:41] I always think, you know, that could be the win, that could be this, but just the light switch and then my wallet moving is just something that I couldn't explain. [00:18:50] And I maybe I bought into it, but at this point, I've moved from non-believer to let's just find a way to coexist with these ghosts. [00:18:57] And so how I handle it is, I don't go where I know they like to hang out, like the bunkhouse and the hotel and these other buildings. [00:19:03] And I hope that maybe they respect my space as well. [00:19:06] All right. [00:19:07] So hang on just a second. [00:19:08] I just want to give one more thing. [00:19:10] So somebody went in, or a ghost went in, turned on the lights, you lock them, but they somehow or another got past that lock. [00:19:19] Then the next thing you notice is somehow or another, your wallet had been moved. [00:19:25] Is it possible that that is something more earthly like someone who is squatting and looking for money in your wallet? [00:19:38] Is that possible? [00:19:39] I mean, when I say these things out loud, I know how ridiculous it sounds. [00:19:43] I'm with you. [00:19:43] I'm the same, particularly coming from a guy that's stuck in a town by himself. [00:19:50] It might sound like I'm going a bit crazy. [00:19:52] Who knows? [00:19:52] And that might be the case. [00:19:54] I'm not actually rule that out either. [00:19:56] But I searched the buildings with my golf club. [00:19:59] I didn't find any squatters. [00:20:05] I love it. [00:20:06] I tell you, Brett, the reason why you're on with us is because I read this story and I thought, this is ridiculous. [00:20:11] And then we called a lot of the people and Sarah, who's our booker, she said, you're going to love Brent because he's like, I know this is crazy. [00:20:21] And I might be crazy because I know what it sounds like. [00:20:24] And I love your take on it. [00:20:26] I will say, Brent, you know, a lot of people would point out because you say, you know, you bought into this and you literally did buy into this. [00:20:33] Like, you've bought into this business. [00:20:36] So is it possible that you're being motivated by the idea that more ghosts good for business? [00:20:46] I didn't think of the ghost as a business. [00:20:48] Because that will move your wallet, Brent. [00:20:53] You know, listen, they all start listing the ghost as an asset on our business. [00:20:56] But until then. [00:20:57] That's right, yeah. [00:20:58] don't say leave me alone so are you gonna you're gonna restore this and you're gonna make it a you know like a not a tourist place but like a a kind of a western resort i guess Kind of like a lodge. [00:21:12] Yeah. [00:21:12] I hope to one day renovate the buildings. [00:21:15] That's what I've been working on when I'm up here to allow more people to come and stay and experience the history and the natural beauty. [00:21:21] Hopefully not the ghosts, but everything else, I guess. [00:21:24] Well, I don't know. [00:21:25] I don't know. [00:21:26] People might pay extra for the ghosts. [00:21:28] So you might want to keep that one to yourself. [00:21:31] Brent, thank you so much for talking to us. [00:21:34] I appreciate it. [00:21:35] Yes. === The Real Deer Ghost (05:48) === [00:21:36] Another result of COVID-19. [00:21:41] Right here. [00:21:42] An underreported ghost sighting. [00:21:44] Brent Underwood. [00:21:46] We'll talk again when you open up your lodge. [00:21:49] Thank you so much. [00:21:54] This is the best of the Glenn Beck program. [00:21:56] And don't forget, rate us on iTunes. [00:22:05] Okay, you're going to love this. [00:22:07] The Blaze and Elijah Schaefer is reporting today on the madness of Twitch. [00:22:18] Now, Twitch is a gamers platform. [00:22:22] And they have just added a new member to their moderation team, a transgender who identifies as a deer. [00:22:36] They're going to be the monitor of freedom of speech and what's allowed and what's not. [00:22:42] Now, I just, you know, I think I've said enough already, but let me let you hear from this deer and what he or she has said. [00:22:56] This is Steph Lauer. [00:22:59] And here's what she said. [00:23:01] Let's take cut one of Steph. [00:23:07] But I'm hanging in there and I'm not going anywhere. [00:23:11] I have power. [00:23:12] They can't take it away from me. [00:23:14] And honestly, you know, there are some people that should be afraid of me and that they are because I represent moderation and diversity and I'm gonna come for hurtful, harmful people. [00:23:34] If you're a really person, I'm going to stand up against you. [00:23:39] So people should fear me. [00:23:40] Okay. [00:23:41] Now she's on a gaming platform. [00:23:44] And here's what she thinks about gamers. [00:23:49] Listen to this. [00:23:50] Well, no, I just'm just not cool with white supremacy, y'all. [00:23:54] It's really not that. [00:23:55] I think a lot of you gamers are actually white supremacists. [00:23:59] Sorry. [00:24:01] Just a fact of how I feel. [00:24:06] Wait, that's totally different. [00:24:08] Fact and a fact about how you feel are totally different things. [00:24:12] No, facts. [00:24:13] Feelings are facts. [00:24:14] Feelings are facts. [00:24:15] It might be a fact that you should feel that way, but what does that mean? [00:24:18] You should be banned. [00:24:20] Now, here she is talking about what she likes to do in her off times. [00:24:28] So in my spare time. [00:24:31] Stop. [00:24:33] Freeze that frame. [00:24:34] Can you freeze that frame? [00:24:36] She's wearing antlers. [00:24:38] I just, if you're, if you're missing, you're missing a lot if you're not watching us on Blaze, but she's wearing antlers. [00:24:46] And she's a good-looking woman. [00:24:48] A deer. [00:24:49] A female deer. [00:24:51] A doe, a deer, a female deer. [00:24:53] Anyway, go ahead, play this. [00:24:55] My yarn. [00:24:55] In my spare time, I go out to my yard and I trance around and I eat grass. [00:25:05] And I just watch it because it helps me feel like in tune with my dear self. [00:25:15] Thank you. [00:25:16] Now, Stu. [00:25:19] Is this real? [00:25:22] That's what I was just going to ask. [00:25:23] Do you think this is real? [00:25:28] Gamers are racist. [00:25:29] She's on Twitch. [00:25:31] That doesn't make any sense. [00:25:34] You know, she likes to go eat grass. [00:25:38] I mean, maybe she is, but I don't even know anymore. [00:25:42] It's an amazing conversation, the idea that we actually think it could be real, right? [00:25:47] But I mean, sure, knows this world better than I do. [00:25:51] 10 years ago, I would say this is absolutely bogus. [00:25:56] But today, yeah, so. [00:26:01] And what else is in the news? [00:26:03] I mean, today this makes sense. [00:26:07] And I would say, too, I mean, a good chunk of the country has absolutely no right to say anything other than it's true, and you should respect her as a deer. [00:26:17] A doe, a female deer, whatever, a female deal. [00:26:21] Fine, yes. [00:26:23] I don't fall into the category that would say that, but there's no reason to, if you're going to say a guy can just identify as a woman whenever he feels like it, why can't they identify as a doe? [00:26:37] Why not? [00:26:39] Again, like you're not, because there's no physical characteristics that coincide with being a doe, what does that have to do with it? [00:26:46] Right. [00:26:47] What does that have to do with anything? [00:26:48] What does that have to do with it? [00:26:50] Nothing. [00:26:51] Ellen explained this a long time ago, I remember on her show, is saying like, you know, it's a way you feel in your mind when you're talking about gender. [00:26:59] It's a way you feel in your mind. [00:27:01] Well, all right. [00:27:02] I don't know what that has to do with society. [00:27:03] Like it's whatever you want to feel in your mind. [00:27:05] I don't know why we would change any policies based on that. [00:27:08] But if that's what you're talking about, okay, whatever. [00:27:11] But that's not something that necessarily affects anyone else. [00:27:14] That's you. [00:27:14] So there's in your lead. [00:27:16] I'm being kind. [00:27:17] There's at least a 50% chance this is absolutely real. [00:27:22] The lunatics are in charge of the asylum.