S569 - GOP Governor Announces Policy Barring White People ONLY From COVID Vaccine In INSANELY Illegal Act
GOP Governor Announces Policy Barring White People ONLY From COVID Vaccine In INSANELY Illegal Act. Many were shocked to see Republican governor Phil Scott embrace Critical Race theory seemingly illegally to favor certain groups based on race.
Democrats have long been proponents of race based while republicans seem to be against critical race theory and far left wokeness
Now we see a republican embracing it outright.
Meanwhile in Florida Ron Desantis has banned vaccine passports
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The Republican governor of Vermont has announced a race-based vaccine policy effectively barring white people without special exemptions from getting the vaccine.
Under a new policy, people who identify as not white are eligible for the vaccine as their sole criteria, which means Everyone can get the vaccine.
Unless you're white, of course.
If you are white, you'll have to qualify with a special job, special age, or a medical condition.
Many people are condemning this as shockingly racist and illegal.
In our next story, we gotta get woke, go broke.
Delta Airlines may lose $35 million annually after criticizing Georgia's new voter laws.
The GOP in Georgia voted to rescind a tax break, effectively saying, if you want to challenge us, then we're going to take away your tax incentives.
Many companies have recently criticized Georgia over a voting law that they are absolutely mischaracterizing as restricting voting access, when in fact, it actually expands voting access in many ways.
In our last story, This was a little personal.
It could be the end of Vice Media as we know it, as they seek to merge with another company.
There will no longer then be an independent Vice Media.
This could just be the last days of a withered husk that was once a great and powerful juggernaut in digital media.
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And now, let's get into that first story.
The Anti-Vaxxers have been a very big concern for many of us for quite some time.
And by anti-vaxxer, I don't mean people who just want to hear about risks and talk to their doctor and be better informed and then make a choice.
That's typically the smear they use against people who just say, let me talk to my doctor to figure out what's right for me.
Which is what you should do.
No, we're talking about the crazy people who believe in moon lizards and other weird conspiracies and microchips and 5G.
Now, that's what we're worried about.
And because of that, I believe we are seeing one of the most ingenious strategies from the governor of Vermont, a Republican, mind you.
He's using the reverse psychology strategy.
How do you get these kooky conspiracy white people to demand the vaccine?
Tell them they can't have it.
Haha, I know, I'm being silly.
But in reality, it is a rather shocking story, and this is why I've come to rather oppose government-run healthcare.
We'll talk about this, but the story is very simple.
Vermont GOP governor opens up COVID vaccines for those who identify as black, indigenous, or person of color.
This means everyone is now allowed to get the vaccine in Vermont unless you're white.
Now, there are some special exemptions provided for white people if you're above a certain age, if you have a special exemption, but regular, run-of-the-mill white folk ain't gonna be allowed to get the vaccine in Vermont.
Now, many people are freaking out about this, rightly so.
I don't want to live in a country where medication is provided based on race.
That's horrifying.
That's the precedent being set.
Many people are pointing out this violates the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 14th Amendment.
But here we go.
We knew it was coming.
It wasn't that long ago we learned the CDC was recommending that non-white people get access before others.
And I actually looked up the definition of person of color because that's what they're saying, and yes.
Basically, as per Vermont policy, according to this governor, if you would like to get the vaccine, you can.
Unless you're white.
When it comes to universal healthcare, there is this utopian feeling that if we just say, look, we're going to make sure everyone's provided with some base level of care, that people will do better and there won't be medical bankruptcies.
And I'm a fan of that.
I absolutely am.
But just being a fan of something doesn't mean I believe we can actually implement it.
Those are serious conversations we have to have.
But one of the biggest shock moments for me that kind of opened my eyes to one of the glaring and serious problems of universal health care is the government's racist and class-based policies that would restrict people for ridiculous reasons from getting proper medical care.
Imagine you break your leg and you go to the hospital and they say, well, you know, because of your race.
Excuse me?
I need a doctor.
You see, when it comes to capitalism, there's no real racial discrimination.
Oh, I know the left may claim there is, but the only color that matters to capitalists is the color green.
The color of money.
I guess, unless you live in a different country and your money's red or blue or whatever, you get the point.
People who want to make money want to make money and they'll shell out whatever.
Which is why so many corporations get woke and then go broke.
They think getting woke is the path to making money and then not realizing it doesn't work.
But these corporations pander.
They'll say anything for a quick buck.
And there it is.
When it comes to the government, they're more interested in public opinion.
And thus, they're getting full-on racist.
My friends, this is really one of the scariest stories I've seen in a long time, because I know it's only going to get worse.
I'm going to show you the CDC outright making a racist proposal.
I don't know how they get away with this stuff, and perhaps the real solution is that people need to file lawsuits to challenge this ridiculously racist garbage.
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Let's read this first story from Fox News.
Vermont GOP governor opens up COVID vaccines for those who identify as black, indigenous, or person of color.
Republican Governor Phil Scott tweeted about the move on Thursday.
They say, Republican Governor Phil Scott tweeted about the move on Thursday as states gradually opened eligibility to various populations.
So far, the process has tended to focus on people who are vulnerable because of their occupation, age, or health status.
Let me stop there.
We're hearing about COVID passports.
Ron DeSantis has recently announced he is outright banning this in Florida, and we'll get to that.
This is significant.
If Vermont is going to be granting special exemptions just because you're not white, this means run-of-the-mill middle-class Americans who don't fall into these special categories will not be able to go to movies, will not be able to go to the theater or travel in the event a nationwide or Vermont policy is passed.
Ron DeSantis is saying no to this, and rightly so.
It would also, in my opinion, violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.
I believe that's what it's called.
Because some people can't get it due to anaphylaxis, allergic reactions.
You gotta talk to your doctor and make sure you know what's right for you.
There are a lot of people that say, you know, Tim should stop shilling for the vaccine, blah blah blah, dude.
I've gotten a ton of vaccines in my life and I've had no side effects.
And I've also been given really weird named things by doctors and all I can do is trust the doctors and I've got no evidence of grand creepy conspiracies.
I think vaccines are fantastic.
But it's up to you.
The vaccine passport effectively takes away that choice through social enforcement.
Now, if another country says you can't come here without a vaccine, hey man, that's not your business.
You're not that country.
And to a certain degree, if a private company says you can't, you can't come in without the vaccine passport, well, we've also got a problem.
But I certainly think regulation exists for a reason.
The 14th Amendment exists for a reason.
And you cannot discriminate against people, they must be treated fairly and equally.
Thus, we have rights in this country.
My personal opinion is, There may be some issues with the AstraZeneca vaccine according to several different countries.
I believe even Fauci may have talked about this.
Could be wrong.
And they've suspended trials in some countries.
But I think it was actually Fauci who came out.
And again, not a big fan of the guy.
But he said, don't worry about it.
There's other vaccines.
There's Johnson & Johnson and Moderna.
Talk to your doctor.
Read the stories.
Figure out what's right for you.
But you gotta talk to your doctor, because I'll give you the real details.
A lot of people don't seem to realize that side effects are incredibly rare, but all that I care about is...
I'm on the libertarian spectrum.
You choose what's right for you.
Now, here's the problem.
They implement this stuff, and then non-white people can't get the vaccine?
They can't go shopping?
We got very serious constitutional violations.
Governor Phil Scott tweeted, if you or anyone in your household identifies as black, indigenous, or a person of color, including anyone with Abenaki or First Nation heritage, all household members who are 16 years or older can sign up and get a vaccine.
Get yours here.
And then he links to this website.
I'll pull that up in a second.
It's amazing stuff, really.
It's just blatantly and overtly racist.
The state's website advertises BIPOC household-focused clinics in northern and southern Vermont.
For the Burlington area, the state offers a vaccination form that specifies eligibility is for BIPOC individuals and members of their household.
The first question asks, do you identify as black, indigenous, or person of color?
This includes anyone who is not white.
Amazing.
We'll come to the point where white people will just start saying they're not white because they have no choice.
Didn't we have some celebrity recently find out they were like 5% black and started saying they were?
Why wouldn't they?
It's like that South Park episode.
Remember where everybody goes around telling everyone their percentage?
They go on like Ancestry.com and get their DNA percentage and they're like, hey, I'm this percent this race.
We'll have no choice but to do that.
Other eligibility categories include people 50 years and older, people 16 years or older with high-risk conditions, English language learners, and people in immigrant refugee communities, healthcare personnel and residents of long-term care facilities, people who work in the public safety system and school staff and child care workers.
The immigrant refugee category similarly offers community-specific clinics.
They are quite literally going to give the vaccine to people who are not citizens, before they give it to white citizens of Vermont.
This is insane!
Wow.
Well, you know what?
I feel sorry for all you guys that are white and won't be able to get that vaccine because I, as a part Asian individual, qualify for this.
Isn't that insanity?
That I have to say something like that?
That I effectively have to go and justify my existence in order to get access to a vaccine?
I made that joke in the beginning because I'm like, maybe telling people they can't have it will make them want to get it.
But I'm kidding, by the way.
I think this is just outright insane.
They're going to say the category is linked to a site describing the state's strategy of working toward equity.
We still have much to do to address the significant disparities in the rates of COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and death among Vermonters who are black, indigenous, and people of color.
The website reads, right now we are working with funded community partners to understand the barriers that might limit vaccine access for BIPOC Vermonters and these require unique public health solutions.
The site adds, it makes good public health sense to allow families and households facing language and access barriers to get information and services at the same time, rather than duplicate these services later on.
The initiative faced a wave of backlash online.
Quote, wildly unconstitutional and absurdly unethical.
Conservative commentator Matt Walsh tweeted, and he's a Republican, of course.
Christopher Ruffo pointed out, this is critical race theory.
Absolutely.
He is the Discovery Institute researcher referring to the controversial and now widespread school of thought that often includes generalizations about particular races.
Overtly racist.
Earlier this week, Rufo denounced an article in which two Harvard physicians proposed racial preferences in medical care as a moral crime.
In a statement to Fox News Friday, Rufo called on public interest attorneys to file a suit against Vermont.
Hear, hear, good sir.
I agree.
Vermont's program of racially separated standards, which denies medical services to a specific racial group, is a flagrant violation of the 14th Amendment.
It follows the logic of critical race theory, which demands that society practice racial discrimination to rectify racial disparities, but is not compatible with American law.
Sadly, Vermont is another example of state neo-racism that has gained in popularity in recent years.
Public interest lawyers should immediately file suit against the governor.
Scott's office did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
Vermont's move fits a pattern of state-backed initiative focused on minorities.
Fox News recently reported on Columbia University promoting graduation ceremonies based on race and other aspects of a person's identity.
The University of Nevada, Reno, is similarly offering living, learning communities focused on race and ethnicity.
Both have clarified, however, that these programs don't exclude white individuals.
Localities are also pushing selective, universal, basic income based on race.
Rufo has been highlighting situations like these, and started a coalition earlier this year designed to bring lawsuits with the aim of reaching the Supreme Court.
I certainly hope the man succeeds.
Last night, on the TimCast IRL podcast, which of course I shouted out, and please go subscribe, I was hanging out with Michael Malice, who you may know.
He said he put his pronouns in his Twitter bio because he wants to pass.
You need to understand that you're living behind enemy lines.
That's what he said.
Perhaps, Michael, you would like to pass.
Perhaps it's smarter just to navigate the system and work and be a subversive and challenge it.
That's fine.
Perhaps a lot of people within the system secretly working to subvert the psychotic cult is a good thing.
I also think it's important that you have people unwilling to bow and bend the knee to make everyone know we will not bend our knee to this racist, segregationist policy.
I find it fascinating when they talk about certain races being allowed to get the vaccine.
When they talk about, you know, segregated universities or graduation ceremonies.
You know, it was many in the alt-right who wanted to balkanize, as they claimed, the United States.
They wanted specific countries or areas or counties for them and other people can go other places.
Well, congratulations to the far left.
They're implementing this.
It's happening.
That's why I call them white supremacists.
But here we go.
Inadvertently, they're giving the other side what they want, I suppose.
It's not even necessarily the other side.
It's just a race-based disagreement, but identitarianism is identitarianism.
I find it fascinating that Phil Scott is a Republican.
Don't take my word for it.
Here's Wikipedia.
They say, political party, Republican.
My friends, you and I are behind enemy lines.
You watching this.
The Republican Party is embracing critical race theory.
Donald Trump opposed it, but now Phil Scott, a Republican, sure, call him a Republican and name only.
Makes sense.
But it's going to start happening.
I made this joke on Twitter, and I wonder if a lot of people understood it.
I said, the year is 2063.
Socialist Fox News host, conservative socialist Fox News host, complains about the absurd far-left communist policies of the Democratic Party.
Everyone is forced to watch the state propaganda of CNN.
They're mandated to clap in unison.
The point is that I'm trying to make, it doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or Republican.
Over time, the whole system drifts into the cult, period.
I'm not surprised we're seeing a Republican endorse this, push this.
And make no mistake, person of color is defined when you just Google search it, a person who is not white.
That's it.
So when the website for Vermont, get the COVID-19 vaccine, they say make an appointment.
I pulled it up, healthvermont.gov.
Legitimate government website.
Use the blue button above to make an appointment through the Health Department website, which includes many partner clinics.
You can also get an appointment at Kinney Drugs, CVS, or Walgreens.
Here we go, baby.
It says if you're over 50, you can get the vaccine.
People 16 years or older with high-risk health conditions.
Okay.
Parents and primary caregivers of those children.
Get it?
Black indigenous and people of color.
Alright.
English language learners in the immigrant refugee communities.
So, okay, non-citizens now.
Healthcare personnel, makes sense.
People who work in public safety, so cops, makes sense.
School staff and childcare workers.
I can understand exceptions.
But if they're saying anyone who's not white can get the vaccine, and then for everyone else, like, think about how amazing this is.
When they say people 50 years of older, they're not saying People of all types.
They're saying white people, 50 years or older.
White people, 16 years or older.
English language learners?
And people in the immigrant-refugee community, if you're white, you know why?
Because BIPOC is already covered.
Meaning, anyone, 25-year-old, healthy, strapping, college-ish athlete, of tremendous ability, who is the last person who needs it, can walk right in and get it.
Before a 49-year-old white person.
That's absolutely psychotic, and it comes straight from the CDC.
The CDC says, CDC.gov, how CDC is making COVID-19 vaccine recommendations.
In one section, they have ethical principles.
ACIP identified four ethical principles to guide their decision-making process when supply is limited.
Maximize benefits and minimize harm.
Mitigate health inequities.
What's this?
Reduce health disparities in the burden of COVID-19 disease and death and make sure everyone has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible.
Mitigate health inequities?
What do you mean by that?
Oh, here's the next one.
Promote justice.
Treat affected groups, populations, and communities fairly.
Remove unfair, unjust, and avoidable barriers to COVID-19 vaccination.
They're not outright saying race, but I think we understand what inequity and justice means.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it.
Okay, fine.
But we have heard in the past that the CDC was making racial recommendations.
I'd love it if everybody could get the vaccine.
Right now, the people who need it are the older people.
There are some issues with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
I think Fauci was talking about this.
So then, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
I see a lot of people and celebrities who have gotten it.
The overwhelming majority of people are fine.
If you don't like it, talk to your doctor and figure out what's right for you.
A lot of people are skeptical.
A lot of people... I see... I just... Look, man.
I'm not a fan of this, right?
I see a lot of people on Twitter, conservatives, saying like, I'm not about this.
Get your advice from your doctor and you do what you want to do.
I've said it a million times.
I've been given prescriptions from doctors.
I got no idea what half these things are.
Do you trust your doctor?
I hope you do.
Your doctor is someone who's gonna have that personal level of care with you.
The bigger issue at play is...
The question of the law being broken, violations of the Constitution, and what we're seeing in other states.
I have this story from JAMA Network.
Are race-based allocation criteria lawful when it comes to vaccines?
They say the U.S.
Supreme Court uses a demanding legal standard in reviewing race-based classifications.
There is no direct precedent in which courts have considered race in allocating scarce health resources.
The closest parallels are found in rulings on school access and university admissions.
The critical question is whether government is permitted to consider race when seeking to ameliorate the effects of past and current discrimination.
Often called reverse discrimination.
The policy deliberately favors people of color.
I don't care what you want to call it.
Discrimination is discrimination.
In a series of cases, the court has vacillated as to whether race can be an express criterion for achieving greater equity and diversity.
In striking down public school integration plans that explicitly included a student's race, Chief Justice Roberts said, the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.
Yet the court has permitted race to be one of multiple factors in ensuring diversity in universities.
They also say, the court has increasingly moved toward limiting the explicit consideration of race, requiring policies categorizing individuals by race to meet a strict scrutiny standard.
Under strict scrutiny, race-based policies must be narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling governmental interest.
Even if the court were to rule that promoting equity is a compelling state interest, it would still require government, wherever possible, to use means other than race to achieve equitable outcomes.
They say, for strategies that would increase the allocation ratio above the proportionate to the population, the Supreme Court is likely to uphold racially neutral vaccine allocation criteria, which are designed to capture worse off minorities, but not explicitly.
A vaccine distribution formula, therefore, could lawfully prioritize populations based on factors like geography, Socio-economic status and housing density that would favor racial minorities de facto, but not explicitly include race.
Hear, hear, Drama Network, for telling us what we needed to hear.
When they come out and say, based on race, you get your vaccine, that's insane.
You mean to tell me that Will Smith is gonna get the vaccine before some like homeless Vietnam veteran, old white dude?
Well, he's probably at this point over 50, but... Oh, an Iraqi war veteran, who's white.
Okay, that's insane.
Now, if they do what I've often advocated for, a class-based policy, then by their own logic, they would disproportionately help people of color, right?
But they wouldn't leave out other people who live there who are poor.
Then you would not...
You wouldn't have an issue of racial discrimination now, would you?
The left likes to say that historical racism, institutional racism, systemic racism disproportionately affects people of color.
I understand those arguments.
We do have a history of racist policy in this country, and while we've outlawed them over the past several decades, the remnants still exist.
The problem now becomes that as we've removed these laws, the remnants still exist, but there are still people who are white who are also poor, and exist in many of these communities, although in smaller percentages.
Do we just leave these people behind to rot?
No, that's absurd.
In which case, class-based is the right way to do it.
If the CDC came out and said justice based on socioeconomic status, I'd get it.
If Vermont said if you make below a certain amount of money, I would understand it.
They're not doing that.
They're telling you based on race what you are or aren't allowed to have.
That's horrifying to me.
Well, Ron DeSantis won't be having none of it.
Check this out.
Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, tweeted, Today I issued an executive order prohibiting
the use of so-called COVID-19 vaccine passports. The legislature is working on making permanent
these protections for Floridians, and I look forward to signing them into law soon.
Read my executive order here. Interesting.
Two Republican governors, two very different approaches.
Why did this governor, Phil Scott, go woke?
He's a Republican.
The Republican Party won't save you from this.
Now, I voted Republican in the last election, mostly because Trump did ban this stuff.
He put in an executive order banning critical race theory in government trainings, and barring companies that engage in critical race theory trainings from working with the U.S.
Why?
Those companies were violating the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 14th Amendment, and it would appear the U.S.
government was doing the same with these trainings.
They actually had one instance where, like, they brought white people to a retreat to complain about their race.
It's getting worse.
It's getting worse.
The Republican Party won't save you from this.
Ron DeSantis may be a strong Republican who opposes this obvious racist policy, but is it going to be enough in the long run when, I get it, Vermont isn't like red, you know, it's not MAGA country or anything like that.
Still, members of the Republican Party don't have that unity.
The Democrats fall in line.
This is the executive order issued by Ron DeSantis.
He says, State of Florida, Office of the Governor, Executive Order number 2181.
Whereas, on March 9th, 2020, I issued Executive Order 2052, subsequently extended, declaring a state of emergency for the entire state of Florida.
December 23rd, I issued another Executive Order, as subsequently executed, directing Florida's initial phase of the vaccine distribution.
I'll just skip over the legalese and tell you what's going on.
He says, whereas the state of Florida is leading the effort to distribute the vaccine to elderly and vulnerable populations, whereas many Floridians have not yet had the opportunity to obtain a COVID-19 vaccination.
Florida seeks to ensure that every Floridian who desires a COVID vaccine can obtain one, but such vaccines will not be mandated.
This is the correct approach.
You decide what's right for you.
That's your choice, your prerogative.
You ask your doctor what's right for you.
Take the advice from your doctor.
Don't listen to me or Fauci or anybody else.
Listen to your own personal doctor.
They know better.
Ron DeSantis is saying everybody who wants a vaccine should be allowed to get one.
I completely agree.
And it should not be mandated.
I completely agree.
If I get the vaccine and you don't like it, and then you get sick, I'm not gonna be mad.
I'm not you.
I'm not gonna get sick.
That's on me.
Some people might not agree with me.
I respect your right to disagree.
That's what makes America great.
That's the way things should be operating.
He goes on to say, DeSantis says, no COVID-19 vaccine is required by law.
And individual COVID-19 vaccination records are private health information which should not be shared by mandate.
And vaccine passports reduce individual freedom and will harm patient privacy.
Requiring so-called COVID-19 vaccine passports for taking part in everyday life, such as attending a sporting event, patronizing a restaurant, going to a movie theater, would create two classes of citizens based on vaccination and It is necessary to protect the fundamental rights and privacies of Floridians and the free flow of commerce.
He says, now, therefore, I, Ron DeSantis, as governor of Florida, by virtue of the authority vested in me, goes on to say, blah, blah, blah, promulgate the following executive order.
No Florida government entity or its subdivision agents or assigns shall be permitted to use vaccine passports, vaccine passes, or other standardized documentation for the purpose of certifying an individual.
Businesses in Florida are prohibited from requiring patrons or customers to provide any documentation certifying COVID-19 vaccination or post-transmission recovery to gain access to, entry upon, or service from the business.
All executive agencies under my direction shall work to ensure businesses comply with the order.
Any provision of Florida statutes is hereby suspended solely to the extent it restricts a Florida agency from requiring compliance with this order as a condition for a license, permit, or other state authorization necessary for conducting business in Florida.
Section 4.
All businesses must comply with this order to be eligible for grants or contracts funded through state revenue.
The requirements in this order do not otherwise restrict businesses from instituting COVID-19 screening protocols in accordance with state and federal law to protect public health, and nothing herein shall be construed to interfere with individuals' right to access their own personal health information under federal law.
This order is effective immediately and shall remain in effect for the duration of Executive Order 2052 as extended.
Good.
COVID vaccine passports, in my opinion, are wrong.
The vaccine, actually, is incredible.
Incredible technology.
Incredible work.
There are side effects.
These are real.
They've been reported by many outlets.
But I think COVID is serious.
I do.
I don't think it's the apocalypse.
We know that it's like twice or... I'll just say this.
It's a lot worse than the flu.
That we know as well.
We know that people under the age of 50 probably don't need the vaccine.
So it makes sense to say for young people, for millennials, you don't need to get this.
Like, legit.
For now, when that advice changes from the CDC or these other, you know, institutions, well then we'll update accordingly.
But there's a reason why vaccine rollout is being done the way it is.
If you're elderly, you need it.
If you are, you know, sick or have a complication or immunocompromised, you need it.
If you work in certain fields, You need it.
The reason for, uh, well actually I'm gonna slow down real quick.
There are reasons why you should get it.
But I will say, Dr. Fauci has stated that even if you get the vaccine, you can still transmit it.
In which case, you would need basically everybody in those industries to get the vaccine.
So, I think we're doing really well in rolling out the vaccine.
I think we'll come to a point of herd immunity, as most people have said.
And upon reaching herd immunity, there'll be many people who won't get the vaccine and likely won't need it for a variety of reasons.
To me, it makes little sense to have these lockdowns maintained, to have COVID vaccine passports, when we're hearing that Joe Biden has upped the ante.
He's sped up the timeline.
We're going to do, you know, hundreds of millions of vaccines very, very quickly.
Well, then what's the point of the passport?
Why should we give our location data to a private big tech company?
Why should we have to reveal our medical history to a private company?
It's none of their business.
If you wanna... I think we gotta have some kind of restrictions guaranteeing rights, put plain and simply.
Putting it plain and simple.
To go to Walmart for, you know, some hot dog buns.
Cause you're gonna have a barbecue.
And then they're like, can you present to me your medical history?
I'd be like, that's nuts.
What if they then decided that there are some things they're allowed to restrict on if they get access to restricting medical history?
You ever broke your leg?
Can't come in now because you might sue us.
I'm not suggesting those things are like what actually happened.
I often think that while there are pitfalls to a lot of policy and loopholes, you typically don't see them and it's social enforcement and good faith typically allows the system to function properly.
But there's a line.
Right now it seems like Florida is in the right.
Ron DeSantis is doing a lot.
And a lot of people want to hear.
Maybe it's just for the base.
Maybe he just wants to run for president in 2024.
Well, I guess I'll take what I can get.
One of the questions I asked of Michael Malice the other day was, if you had a lying politician or a crazy politician, which one would you prefer?
And I guess he ultimately said the lying politician at least would do things based in reality, and perhaps they would just try and pander to the best of their ability to the largest, you know, or to the lowest common denominator.
A crazy person might do crazy things and just, you know, blow everybody up.
When I pointed out, somebody who's pandering to the masses is not going to do what's right.
They're going to do what gets them more votes, which can be destructive.
It's hard to know for sure what the right thing is.
But when you look at Florida and you look at Texas, things are doing really, really well there.
People are doing really well.
There was a segment going viral on CNN, where one of their guests basically said, We have a short window to get the vaccine rolled out to everybody telling them this is how you can go back to normal and get your freedoms because states are reopening anyway.
People are getting their freedoms back and so we're running out of time.
It's a really weird thing to say but it sounded to me and to many others that they were basically saying at a certain point we risk a surge because states are reopening.
But isn't it incumbent upon the people to decide what they want to do, and for their government—their local governments, their state governments—to decide what they want to do?
If Texas decides to reopen, well, then that's Texas.
If you don't like it, then perhaps you can vote for someone else?
Or if your safety is threatened, you can leave?
Instead, what we're hearing is imposition on the states that disagree with us.
Well, in Florida and Texas, the rates have been going down and things have been improving.
It's possible a surge could happen again, but I must stress this.
While I think COVID is very serious, and we all have, I mean, I was one of the first people, as many conservatives were, pointing out the seriousness of COVID.
We got to a point where we kind of understood it a lot better and kind of calmed down quite a bit.
Well, it is serious.
It's not airborne Ebola.
So, it makes sense to have some restrictions.
It makes sense to have some lockdown that I definitely get, considering even a few percentage of people getting this and dying could be millions of people.
And we already are at half a million.
There's a lot to break down in there.
I understand.
I understand.
There are some reporting issues that people have brought up.
The point is, We need to be reasonable in our approach.
We need to address this from a rational point of view.
And when it comes to things like COVID, I wonder about many other ailments that have a much higher infection rate we don't track for.
Maybe it's because we're just now getting into it and it is a first for everything, perhaps.
But if they start with vaccine passports for COVID, you know they're going to do passports for everything else.
How's your chronic bronchitis?
Did you get a vaccine for tetanus?
Hep A?
C?
Whatever?
Have you gotten typhoid shots?
I don't know, whatever.
They're gonna start doing everything in your medical history.
And there's a reason why we have HIPAA laws and we protect against this.
Privacy is very, very important.
Surveillance state is not something you want.
Surprising to me, though.
We got two big issues here.
Ron DeSantis seems to be going in the right direction, as far as I can tell.
And Phil Scott has gone completely racist.
I think the racists are taking over, and they've been in power.
They've never lost power.
The Democrats have always been here, and here we go, baby.
This guy's a Republican, though, so don't expect the Republican Party to save you.
I'll leave it there.
Next segment will be tonight at 8 p.m.
over at YouTube.com slash TimCastIRL.
We'll be hanging out talking about all this stuff live, so please go subscribe, and maybe today is the day we will break 1 million subscribers, if all of you do subscribe.
Again, thanks for hanging out.
We will see you all at YouTube.com slash TimCastIRL tonight at 8 p.m.
live.
The phrase, get woke, go broke, has reached an astonishing new level.
And it's not really about getting woke.
It's more just when a corporation tries to play politics, eventually it backfires.
This time, it happened very, very quickly.
You see, over in Georgia, they passed a voter reform bill.
Now if you look at the New York Times, they call it a voter restriction bill.
That's actually absurd, because if you pull up CNN, CNN actually breaks down what the bill does, and it's not all that good for Republicans.
It's kind of a concession in a lot of ways with absentee voting and mail-in voting, but they do have voter ID.
So Delta Airlines, right, they come out and they're all like, yo, this is oppression!
We stand against this!
We are angry!
And Coca-Cola apparently did too.
Well, as it turns out, do not bite the hand that feeds you, because Georgia Republicans have voted to strip a $35 million annual tax break from Delta in response to their playing politics.
Now, something similar is happening in Texas, because I think American Airlines is going after Texas, issuing a public statement saying, like, you're trying to suppress the vote.
And Texas is all like, yo, you called me, you didn't even read the bill.
So let me slow down for a second.
Georgia passes this new voter reform bill, and all of a sudden, you have these activists screaming the apocalypse, that Republicans are taking away people's right to vote and things like that.
It's actually not true!
When you actually go through what Georgia did, I was surprised.
I was like, Republicans actually gave some concessions, like mail-in voting, early voting, things like that.
Democrats, for some reason, are absolutely opposed to voter ID.
As are these major corporations, which is very creepy.
Now, we've heard it all before.
They say voter ID is racist.
Because these people actually have the nerve to go out and claim minorities don't know how to find IDs.
Recommend the Ami Horowitz video where he goes around New York and asks black people, and they all, yes, like regular people, know where the DMV is, have IDs, and know how to use the internet.
But these well-to-do progressives, they're super racist.
And I hate that this means the left is like, the left is the real racist, it's so dumb.
When you go and film a bunch of kids at Berkeley telling you outright that they hold disparaging views of minorities, don't come to me and act like y'all aren't racist.
Okay?
I grew up on the south side of Chicago.
No one had any problem getting an ID.
And you know what the crazy thing was?
The DMV was actually kind of far away.
It was like 10 miles from where I lived.
So you needed to get a ride to it.
And you had to go through... So like on the south side, you couldn't just go to a DMV.
It was like...
Basically in the suburbs, so that was like, what were those, the Pace buses?
It was CTA and then the Pace, not easy.
But we figured it out, because you needed to get your ID.
People, well, I guess when I was a kid, not everybody had the internet because it wasn't on smartphones, but these days they do.
So why is it that these companies are coming out, claiming it's the end of the world over voter ID?
Well, at the same time, these same airlines like Delta are like, you gotta wear a mask and you need an ID to fly, and now they're talking about vaccine passports, not Delta specifically.
Vaccine passport, guess what?
You want to get yours?
You need an ID.
No joke.
You need more than an ID.
In New York, not only do you need to prove your age, you need to prove residency.
You could do that with a single ID, but they're asking for more than just identification.
Because New York could literally be like, you want, if you want, let's put it this way.
Let's say you have a job working at McDonald's and you live in New York, you're an essential worker, so you need to get a vaccine.
But your ID is, you know, your old ID, you just moved there.
They're not gonna let you get the vaccine unless you update your address.
So your ID alone isn't even good enough.
Now, I'm sure that to a certain degree, even voting, you would need to have your updated address.
The point is, I'll show you this.
The vaccine thing from New York says bring in proof of your business, proof of your age, proof of your residency.
Now, I guess that could mean people could theoretically have some other way to prove their residency, I suppose.
But in order to prove your residency without an ID, you'd need an ID, wouldn't you?
Why?
Well, let's say I have a letter and it's like a pay stub or something like that.
It's got my name and address on it.
Okay, prove your name, dude.
Oh, well, here's my ID!
Isn't that amazing?
Voter ID for literally buying a cheeseburger.
Okay, I'm being hyperbolic.
Voter ID for getting on a plane.
Look at these airlines.
I'm sorry, not voter ID.
You need vaccine passport identification for getting on these planes, traveling, but to vote.
I'm sorry, man.
There's no logical justification for this stuff.
I've seen the memes where it's like, you wanna go to the movies?
Need an ID.
You wanna go to a bar?
Need an ID.
You wanna vote?
Hey, that's no problem.
Could you just stop and think for one second.
These people who say voter ID is racist, they realize that black people and Latinos Go to bars, right?
What do they think happens, like a 21-year-old black dude shows up to a bar and he's like, I don't know how to get in?
That's the most insanely racist thing I've ever heard.
Dude, I can't stand these people, man.
Well, here we go, baby.
Georgia House votes to strip Delta of tax break after CEO criticized voting law.
Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian called Georgia's new voting law unacceptable.
Yeah, it's a complete bunk.
It's not unacceptable.
Check this out.
The Republican-controlled House voted along party lines to end a tax break for jet fuel worth more than $35 million annually.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, Georgia's Republican House Speaker David Roustan acknowledged the vote was meant as a reprimand following Bastian's remarks.
Quote, They like our public policy when we're doing things that benefit them, Roustan said.
I am sick and tired of these major corporations injecting themselves in matters for which they need not.
I don't care the Carolina Hurricanes, they come out.
I don't know if you guys saw this tweet and they're like, everybody must respect pronouns.
Shut up!
You're a hockey team.
I don't care what you think about someone's pronouns.
If someone comes to me and they say, you know, please refer to me in this way, I'll say, you got it.
Ain't no problem for me, because I don't care, you know?
I try to give people a base level of respect, and if someone says, this is my name, I'll call them that.
If someone says they want to be called Megatron or, you know, I don't care.
And I'm using that as an extreme example.
If someone comes to me and says their name is John or Susan, I'll say, nice to meet you, John or Susan.
I got no problem.
I don't need these corporations coming out and pandering to people to market.
Oh, they love the controversy.
See, now I named them, right?
Georgia's State Senate did not bring the House-backed measure up for a vote, effectively scuttling the GOP's push to revoke the tax break.
Some senators reportedly had reservations about revoking a financial incentive as Delta and other airlines contend with the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Bastian and other business leaders publicly criticized the state's recent passage of additional voting restrictions.
Even Fox says it's voting restrictions.
Get out of here.
They say, uh, I guess technically that's fair.
Critics have argued the measures, which include a tightening of requirements for mail-in voting, and restrictions on non-poll workers providing food and drink to voters waiting in line at polling centers, amounted to voter suppression.
In a memo to Delta employees, Bastian argued that changes were based on a lie, that there was widespread voter fraud, and yeah, so I'm not going to finish reading that because this is YouTube, but it's just, right.
I need to make it crystal clear that the final bill is unacceptable and does not match Delta's values.
The right to vote is sacred.
It is fundamental to our democracy.
And those rights not only need to be protected, but easily facilitated in a safe and secure manner.
I say this all the time.
We're a democracy.
Constitutional republic with democratic institutions.
Some refer to it as liberal democracy.
Liberal democracy does not mean direct democracy, and it does not mean left.
It means classically liberal freedom, protection for the individuals, and the right of the individual to participate in their government.
So here's basically what we get from the New York Times.
I love this one.
Delta and Coca-Cola reverse course on Georgia voting law stating crystal clear opposition.
Look at this.
Companies that remained silent last week as Georgia Republicans rushed to pass a law to restrict voting access.
That's a lie.
You know what?
You know what I could say?
Georgia implemented temporary measures in order to allow people to vote during a pandemic.
These temporary measures, should they expire or not be re-implemented, would mean voting would be substantially harder than it was in 2020.
Republicans have apparently expanded some of that access to a now more permanent status, which it makes it seem like they actually had some concessions.
But I love how the media frames it.
These people are duplicitous.
Check this out.
CNN.
Facts first.
That's surprising.
This is CNN.
But check it out.
What the new Georgia election law actually does, they say.
The new Georgia elections law signed by Republican Governor Brian Kemp last week has prompted lawsuits from civil rights groups, a sharp denunciation from President Joe Biden, and calls for businesses to take action against the state.
Republican proponents of the law say the critics who accuse them of voter suppression are mischaracterizing both the intentions and key provisions.
They claim the law not only makes Georgia elections more secure, but it expands access to voting.
I believe that's true, actually.
That's highly misleading at best.
That's right, CNN.
They have to do that.
As critics have correctly said, the law imposes significant new obstacles to voting.
It also gives the Republican-controlled state government new power to assert control over the conduct of elections in Democratic counties.
Stop and think for one second.
It gives the Republican-controlled state government.
So you mean to tell me that if Georgia goes Democrat, then it would give the Democrat-controlled state government power over Republican counties?
Do you see how the lies work?
CNN, that's what they do.
Surprisingly, though, they do break it down, and we can sift through the framing and show you what's actually happening.
This is amazing.
It's a fact check in real time, right?
They say the Republican-controlled state government would have power over Democratic counties.
Just think about that for two seconds and we can strip that sentence of its false framing.
Thanks, CNN.
That would give the state government power over different counties.
That's all they really said.
Yes, we get it.
Democrats and Republicans swing back and forth often.
So be it.
I say this.
The law does, however, contain some provisions that can reasonably be described as pro-voting, and critics have not always described all of that text accurately.
You see?
There you go.
Here's an explanation of some.
Increase state power over counties.
The new law removes the Georgia Secretary of State as the chair of the state elections board.
They go on to say, instead, the law lets the state legislature, which has been under unified Republican control since 2005, appoint a nonpartisan chair of the board.
Which means that should Democrats take over, they could do the same thing.
Under the new law, if a majority of the five-member board decides that a county election's officials have been doing their job poorly, the board can suspend those officials and replace them with one person the board has handpicked to serve as a temporary superintendent with the same powers the officials had.
I actually oppose that.
I do not like the idea of outside forces intervening in counties.
Because think about it this way.
What happens when the Democrats do gain power, and they see a Republican district, and they say, uh-oh, I don't like the way things are going, and they pull out the guy running it, and they put in an ally or something?
Nah, I think the counties should be responsible for how they vote, and it should be a bottom-up process.
Not a fan.
They say, guaranteed but also limited drop boxes.
Interesting!
isn't it? The new law requires each Georgia county to have a minimum of one drop box for
absentee ballots in 2020. When drop boxes were used for the first time in Georgia,
the boxes were authorized by a special pandemic related rules rather than by long-term legislation.
However, the new law also limits how many drop boxes each county can have,
how many hours and days the boxes can be open, and where they can be located.
It has to do those things!
Are you nuts?
What?
Okay, you can have 500,000 boxes there permanently?
That makes no sense.
Someone has to collect from them.
You need to have a time limit and a finite number of boxes.
See CNN?
Come on, calm down.
The law says, each county can't have more than one Dropbox per early voting site or per 100,000 active registered voters, whichever number is smaller.
This provision will dramatically reduce the number of Dropboxes available in some large counties.
Fulton County, for example, says it would go from 38 Dropboxes in November to 8 in the future.
You had 38 because of pandemic.
Now the pandemic is winding down and the vaccine is here, They are going to keep many of these drop boxes, which is a net gain.
You see this manipulation?
We should have more than 38.
It was a pandemic, dude.
That's why we did it.
The lies from these corporations.
For what?
To make our elections less secure?
That's creepy, man.
In addition, the law says the drop boxes need to be located in elections offices or out inside early voting locations.
And it says the boxes can only be available during the hours that early voting is available.
What this means is a drop box.
It means you're going to vote by mail.
It means you're going to get your ballot in the mail.
Major concessions to the left on this.
Good job, Republicans.
And the corporations coming out and being like, this is abhorrent!
Maybe serve only one real purpose.
Convincing people that Republicans are actually fighting back when they're not.
Remember how I said, like, you know, Mitch McConnell's just basically going to Congress and going like, slow down there, Democrats.
That's all he does.
When's he gonna come out and pass a bill abolishing all gun control?
Of course he won't.
Republicans don't do any of this.
I heard from a lot of people.
They're like, Tim, the reason the Republicans don't impose these laws like Democrats do, like universal healthcare, is because we want people to be left alone.
And I'm like, then where are the Republicans coming out to repeal laws?
Where are the Republicans coming out saying you can't do that and infringe on someone's rights?
They're not doing that either.
They do have some.
We see these like religious freedom bills and I roll my eyes at these things.
I get it.
But is that the best they have to offer?
Whatever red meat they can throw to the base, I suppose.
They say another early voting day in primaries and general elections.
There was extensive media coverage of initial Republican proposals to eliminate or sharply reduce early voting on Sundays.
Under the weakened provisions of the previous law, weekend, sorry, weekend provisions of the previous law,
counties had to open for early voting on only one Saturday during primaries and general elections,
9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sundays were not mentioned.
Under the new law, two Saturdays of early voting are mandatory from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at minimum,
and they could be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. if they want.
And two Sundays are explicitly made optional.
Republicans have expanded early voting, remote voting, all of that stuff.
And they're acting like it's a voter restriction.
No.
They also said voter ID, which is interesting.
They say shortened runoffs.
I'm not super concerned about that.
Big changes.
The law makes a number of changes to absentee voting.
Notably, it shortens the duration of absentee voting period and changes the ID requirements for absentee voters.
Under the new law, absentee ballots are allowed to be sent out to voters 29 days before an election, down from the previous 49 days.
Do you mean from the pandemic rules?
No, I'm gonna stop.
Maybe I just am not aware of the past rules, and this could be the actual absentee voting before the pandemic, in which case they would be reducing it still.
They're giving up a lot of concessions, even CNN notes.
This is not some sweeping voter restriction.
It is a voter reform.
It changes some things, helps in some areas, gives concessions to Democrats in some areas, and then requires ID and changes to absentee voting in other areas.
And?
Am I supposed to be like, oh no, you have a month to vote absentee?
I mean, that's kind of a long time.
You just gotta know this.
They say.
State and local governments are now prohibited from sending out unsolicited absentee ballot applications.
Because of the pandemic, Raffensperger had sent out to all active registered voters for the June 2020 primary.
I agree with that.
And third-party groups can face financial penalties if they mail applications to people who have already applied for a ballot.
Law also does away with signature matching system Georgia used to, uh, used, to use, used to use, English, huh?
used to use to check the identities of absentee voters.
Instead, voters will have to provide their Georgia driver's license number, the number on their state ID card, or the last four digits of their social security number.
If they don't have any of that, they can provide one of several alternative forms of identification, such as a copy of a utility bill, bank statement, or government check.
Advocates of the change say that this identification system is more precise than subjective attempts to match handwriting, while critics note the new requirements are disproportionately likely to burden black voters.
Are you telling me that these people don't know their own social security numbers?
Is that all you really got to do?
I shouldn't even call this voter ID.
The last four of your social is all you need.
Brilliant.
It does nothing.
And they're claiming it's...
Critics think that black voters don't know, don't have utility bills, don't have bank statements, don't have government checks, don't have a social security number, don't have an ID.
Are you insane?
God, I can't stand these racists, man.
Just the stupidest thing ever.
Now, this is the one that went viral.
Man, are people just dumb.
A food and drink restriction.
Another section of the law, which has generated criticism from Biden and others, limits how voters can be provided food and drink in the vicinity of a voting location.
The law makes it a misdemeanor for any person to give or offer any money or gifts, including food or drink, to any voter within a polling place, within 150 feet of the building housing a polling place, or within 25 feet of any voter standing in line at a voting place.
The provision is located in the same paragraph as a provision banning campaign activity in these locations.
But the provision doesn't prohibit only people who are campaigning for giving out food and drink.
It says any person, not just campaigners.
There is, however, one exception.
Poll officers are allowed to make available self-service water from an unattended receptacle to an elector waiting in line to vote.
And it's perhaps worth noting that there is not a prohibition on voters in line buying food and drink for themselves.
The provision is about other people providing money or gifts.
Which means, theoretically, it sounds like someone could walk up and be like, I got a hot dog and a bottle of water, it's five bucks.
What you can't do is just gift people things.
Just give them things.
They're trying to prevent undue influence.
But if someone came by and was selling food, apparently that's fine.
It's ridiculous to me that this is what they're worried about.
You can't give people water, oh no!
You can't give people anything.
You can't give gifts to people.
You know, we saw this in Phil- I think it was in Philadelphia.
There were a bunch of overtly illegal signs put up at polling places saying, here's how you should vote.
And man, this stuff sickens me.
These people are evil people, man.
They want to maximize the number of uninitiated ignorant voters because they want to manipulate them.
I love this.
My favorite example is a South Park episode where the school mascot was a giant douche in a turd sandwich.
And then I think it was Stan, he didn't want to vote.
And so Kyle and Cartman are like, you have to vote!
And then finally he tells Kyle, okay, I'll vote for, you know, this one.
And Kyle's like, wait, no, that's the wrong one.
Don't do that.
Don't vote for that one!
Yeah, they want you to vote for their people.
They want to influence you.
Putting up these signs is just evil, man.
Maximizing the amount of people who vote is not inherently wrong.
But their motives are wrong.
I want everyone to vote.
I want every single person to get up and vote.
I want them to do it because they want to do it, and because they know what they're voting for.
But when you have Democrats saying 16-year-olds should be allowed to vote, I'm like, they don't know what they're voting for!
It's like, you get a guy saying, you know, I'm gonna implement a wealth tax.
And the 16-year-old is like, sounds good to me.
16-year-old probably hasn't even paid taxes yet.
Many 16-year-olds, some have had jobs.
You turn 16, congratulations, you get a paycheck, you're paying taxes.
Or maybe you worked for your family business.
The point is, most 16-year-olds probably don't know anything about how taxes work.
They've not paid property taxes, and our schools don't teach them this either.
If you're trying to get people who have no idea, you know, how the system works to vote on changing the system, you're going to break it.
Could you imagine getting a bunch of 16-year-olds to vote on how to, like, fix the transmission of your car?
They'd be like, I think this guy sounds right because he said he wants to put flames on the side of the car to make it go faster.
I'm kidding, 16-year-olds.
I don't think you're that dumb.
I'm making a joke.
The reality is, age is not a guarantee of someone's wisdom.
That's true.
There are a lot of very young, very smart people.
However, there is a tendency.
I don't necessarily think it's fair to discriminate on the basis of age, but I don't know how you do it.
Democrats are using that, and it's a difficult point because I don't like age discrimination, even for young people.
No, I really do mean it.
They're trying to use that because they want to maximize a bunch of young impressionable voters who don't understand what's going on.
A 16-year-old today does not understand Occupy Wall Street and what that was and why it was.
They don't understand the Iraqi war.
They don't understand the Afghani war.
They don't know what's going on with these conflicts, and they're going to vote for people who will blow things up.
These 18-year-olds, these 20-year-olds who voted in the last election for Biden, didn't grow up at a time watching the Obama administration kill people, American citizens and children.
So here they are voting.
So maybe it's not about intelligence, but at least memory.
If Joe Biden can get up and be like, come on, man, you know, Trump's bad, you know, vote for me.
And I'm like, dude, this is the guy that was part of the administration blowing up American citizens.
No joke.
Several extrajudicial assassinations in violation of due process rights.
And these people are just like, Gotta vote for Biden, he's better.
And I'm like, you're gonna vote for the guy who was overseeing Iraq, who all of a sudden his brother gets his million dollar contracts, his son's flying to China on government property, and he's blowing up kids in foreign countries?
That, to you, is better because Trump is bad?
That's the problem.
So I think, look, it's 18 to vote.
I got no problem with that.
I don't think 16 makes sense.
I don't know why or where to draw the line, because I'm not convinced 18-year-olds know either, but hey, at least we have that line.
They say there are other provisions.
Sure.
I want to make sure I don't go too long on this.
Georgia is going to reap the benefits, but let me just show you something like this.
Get your COVID-19 vaccine, says New York.
Preparing your appointment.
If you're eligible to get vaccinated based on your age, you must bring proof of age and proof of New York residency.
How do you prove your age?
Your birth certificate and utility bill?
Hey, that's exactly what you need to get an ID, isn't it?
If you're eligible to get vaccinated based on employment, bring proof of employment and proof that you work or live in New York.
Hey, wait a minute!
You mean like a pay stub and a utility bill?
Exactly what you'd need to get your ID?
Amazing, isn't it?
If you're based on an underlying medical condition, they say you don't need documentation from your healthcare provider, but you must have proof of New York residency.
That's technically a bigger burden than just an ID.
Because as I pointed out before, let's say you lived in Philadelphia.
You moved to New York.
You've been there for about a month.
You're supposed to get your ID changed within like 60 to 90 days.
I don't know what it is for New York.
And so you haven't done it yet.
The DMVs are backed up.
I'll tell you this.
Many states are overrun.
Let's say you move from Philly to New York.
And you make your appointment and they say, we can get your ID fixed with a new address.
In six months.
No joke.
Have you seen how some of these big cities are operating their DMVs?
They're on appointment only.
And it's like three to six months out for some places.
So now you're like, okay, I live here.
I work here.
Well, in order to keep working, I need to get the vaccine.
Then they say, your ID does prove your age.
I'm sorry, but it says you live in Philadelphia.
In which case, you have to bring more proof than just your ID.
That to me is remarkable.
When you vote, you need to prove who you are to vote.
Apparently, you don't in many places.
And to me, that's just insane.
It's insane!
Ah, I'm sick of it.
They're obviously lying, but there are tribalists on the left, the Democratic Party, that just want to win for their tribe.
So, they tell you it's racist?
Oh, okay.
Then vaccine passports are double racist because you need more requirements.
Anyway, Delta, I hope you've learned your lesson.
Apparently, American Airlines is getting roasted as well.
Dan Patrick slams American Airlines because apparently they admitted they never even read the legislation.
Get well, go broke, my friends.
I'll leave it there.
Next segment's coming up at 1 p.m.
on this channel, and I will see you all then.
It was once a vibrant rebel in the media.
Vice was edgy.
It challenged the system, and it was growing exponentially, eventually becoming the juggernaut of the digital era.
At one point, Vice's evaluation was $5.7 billion.
And there was a brief period where I called Vice my home.
I was the founding member of Vice News.
They had many personalities there who worked on documentaries.
But in terms of doing on-the-ground field reporting and live reporting, My understanding is that I was the first.
Vice News didn't exist when I joined.
It was just kind of a tag for some content they would put up if it was news related.
And then I started doing dispatches and live streams.
And then they launched Vice News and it became the fastest growing news organization ever.
At least that's what they said.
Could just be marketing.
I don't know.
Well now, my friends, it appears Vice Media may finally be done.
I know, I know.
I'm hearing everybody say, what do you mean they're already done?
Okay, hold your horses.
It is now a withering husk of the skin suit that it became after it was gutted and destroyed by corporate interests and the woke.
When Vice first started, it was extremely edgy and punk rock.
And they did a lot of shocking and offensive things.
Rather interestingly, it went from this punk rock zine to a corporation.
And all of a sudden, they had to consider what it meant to be acceptably edgy.
Now, in the early days, it meant writing fake articles, at least they've been accused of doing that.
It meant putting really nasty things in jars and effectively hazing interns.
I don't know if any of those things are true.
I never experienced them.
But that's just the legends that they say about how vice used to be.
What I can say is that in my experience, there were many people who worked there Who seem to have been... friends.
Insiders.
Many people who, at the time, when I started, had... They were the people that Vice could get.
You know, when Vice needed someone to do a certain job, they couldn't afford the six-figure New York executives, so they get one of their buddies to do it.
Eventually, they went corporate and those people got fired and they were gone.
And around the time I was joining, a lot of people were pointing out that the company was starting to move in a corporate direction.
But even if that was the case, there was still this belief that this would be the anti-establishment rebel in the media.
I remember Shane Smith giving an interview, I think it was on Colbert, where he was like, we're not Democrat, we're not Republican, you know, we don't want to play that.
And I was inspired by that.
That's why I wanted to join the company.
I was like, these are people who get it, right?
It's interesting.
Well, now we're hearing that Vice may merge with another company in order to go public, present a public offering.
The reason why I say that this is the end.
Vice at one point, you know, I was watching this happen when I was there, it was becoming more and more corporate.
But eventually, you know, after I left, it started becoming woke.
There's a lot of reasons for this.
Some people I know who worked there said it was because there were too many scandals plaguing the executives and that these new investors came in and said, listen, we're going to keep getting slammed as misogynists unless we go full-on Feminist, intersectional, woke, etc.
Plus, they said, think about what young people want.
That's what I was told.
Don't know if it's true.
Again, I just know people who work there and this is what I was told.
I left Vice for another company and I heard similar things.
Around this time, we did start to see Vice become an establishment woke mouthpiece.
When I left Vice, I went to work for ABC.
When I left them, I went to go report in Sweden on some claims that were made by Donald Trump.
I had people from Vice messaging me saying, don't go and report there, and I was just so confused.
Why are my colleagues, former, from Vice, who used to go on the ground with me, now telling me not to do this?
That's weird.
What happened to this company in the two years I've been gone?
Well, my friends, it was gutted, and it became a skin suit.
That's what happens.
It's happening to the New York Times right now.
The parasitic leech of, you know, wokeness enters in at the base of the spine and starts consuming everything until all that's left is a skin suit they wear flopping around like the dude in Men in Black.
The guy, you know, the bug puts on the skin suit and he's like, oh, oh, oh, sugar water.
That's basically what Vice became.
At one point, it was just punk rock, edgy, sex drugs and rock and roll.
It was absurd.
It was exciting.
It inspired people.
With Vice now looking at this merger, as well as layoffs, seems to me that this would be the true end of Vice.
Merging with another company in order to go public.
It's a SPAC, a special acquisitions company or something like that.
It's like a shell company.
I will go through what this means.
But it's basically like, to me, it looks like this is officially the end.
Now there will be a withered husk of a skin suit that is named Vice.
But will it actually be anything close to it?
Look, man.
The New York Times right now is still the New York Times.
You know what I mean?
Like, we know that the CRT people are gutting it and wearing the New York Times like a skin suit, and it's creepy, and that's why you see people like Barry Weiss resign.
But we still can't see the brand and the paper that is the New York Times.
We're just upset that it got, you know, effectively taken over by cultists.
With this merger, they're effectively just gonna mash it into, you know, a bowl with a bunch of other old skin suits, and then try and make some money off of it.
To me, that's really gonna be the end.
You can call it vice, but it's not even a skin suit at that point.
Well, let's start light.
Vice Media just laid off a handful of digital staffers.
Surprise, surprise, the Trump slump is here.
I don't even know if Vice has been relevant for years.
Of course, they did the Charlottesville thing four years ago, three and a half years ago.
That gave them a lot of prominence and relevance.
And now they're on Showtime.
But does anybody really talk about them all that much anymore?
There was a period where every single meeting I went to, someone said, we wanna be vice.
And they would always say vice, but.
They would say, we wanna be vice, but nice.
We wanna be vice, but for families.
We wanna be vice, but you know, more advertiser friendly.
I heard it so often.
They called it nice vice.
Can we make this authentic, on the ground, Experience, where people are learning the news from one of their buddies.
And I warned them all, I said, you realize that's what YouTube is?
It's the authentic experience, so they say.
You're hanging out with your friends, you're sitting down having a conversation, and so there's a bunch of different ways you can do it.
With Vice, they were just some regular dudes who went to North Korea, who went to, you know, Iran.
Pretty sure they went to Iran.
And you have this guy just being like, this is crazy.
Here's what I'm experiencing.
And it felt authentic.
Everybody wanted to have that.
Now they got it.
But at a certain point when Vice becomes extremely corporate, then woke, and then a withered husk being passed off to a merger, Just things come to an end, you know what I mean?
And I feel kind of bad because there's probably someone who's, you know, 20 years old right now.
Think about this, 20 years old.
And it was seven, almost eight years ago that I joined Vice.
What I saw in this company that was inspiring and challenging the system, they never knew it existed.
So now they enter this world with Vice just being another one of these garbage media companies.
Here's what's happening.
Maybe I'm getting a little personal and a little philosophical.
Without Vice, it's the end of an era.
I mean, there were a lot of companies that started up.
Mike.com, Huffington Post, BuzzFeed.
Vice had been around for a long time.
And they were something different.
Now, we can talk about BuzzFeed.
They're rather successful.
They just bought Huffington Post.
And, sure, they also sell cookware at Walmart, if you didn't know that.
But Vice was the juggernaut.
It's truly an end of an era.
Well, here's the story from Insider.
It's as cut and dry as you can see it is.
They say Vice Media laid off a handful of top staffers in its digital unit on Thursday, said three people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Vice sources described the move as a restructuring rather than cost-cutting exercise, but they always do that.
You mean to tell me...
That while we're in the Trump slump, you can't milk the Orange Man narrative, your layoffs are for restructuring?
Spare me the lies.
Or what I assume to be lies.
It's avoided litigation.
At a meeting on Thursday, employees were told the cuts would remove management layers, and that the people laid off would not be replaced in those roles, said one staffer who was present.
We are constantly evaluating our business, blah blah blah, you get it.
Yeah.
I remember when they merged all the different verticals back under Vice.
Motherboard used to be its own site.
A bunch of other, you know, Vice used to have a bunch of different sites and they brought them all together.
Why?
Consolidation as the media ecosystem began collapsing.
And Shane Smith called it out.
I mean, he was the CEO.
He said in 2014 there'd be a bloodbath.
I believe it was 2014.
Trump staved that off.
Well, here we go, baby.
From the wrap, Vice Media and Advanced talks to merge with SPAC and go public.
The digital media outlet has discussed going public with several SPACs recently, including one led by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs.
Let's break down the story and then we'll go over what a SPAC is.
Vice Media is in advanced talks to go public following a merger with 7GC & Co Holdings, a special purpose acquisition company, according to a report from The Information on Wednesday.
The story comes after Vice was talking to at least two SPACs earlier this month about going public with one of the offers at about $2.5 billion, or about 56% less than Vice's peak evaluation of $5.7 billion in 2017.
You know, it's funny.
Disney wrote down their investment in Vice to zero.
To zero.
That's amazing.
They basically said, we've lost all this money.
7GC & Co., founding partner Jack Leaney, and Vice Media did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Vice had previously discussed merging with other SPACs, the information reported on Wednesday, including one led by Group 9 Media and another led by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs.
Mayer and Staggs are running two SPACs together, Forest Road Acquisition Corp.
Their latest tech and media-focused SPAC raised $350 million earlier this month.
They say 7G, C & Co.
raised $230 million when its SPAC debuted in late 2020.
Its share price was up 2%.
Back in 2017, Vice secured a $450 million investment from private equity firm TPG, valuing the company at $5.7 billion.
But it has struggled to turn a profit, like many other digital media companies in recent years.
The Wall Street Journal reporting, the outlet lost $50 million in 2019.
If a deal is reached soon, it's expected to fall well short of Vice's previous valuation.
Vice isn't the only media firm looking to go public via a SPAC deal, either.
BuzzFeed is also discussing a deal with 890 Fifth Avenue Partners, priced a little below BuzzFeed's peak evaluation of $1.7 billion, the information reported.
Now, listen.
I mean, that's good news, I suppose, for a lot of these digital outlets.
They're looking for an exit, they're looking for a merger, and they're gonna make some money.
I'm just saying, it comes to this point where they do these mergers.
Once Vice officially merges with somebody else, ain't no Vice no more.
Vice is the top of the hill where they are.
Now they'll just become under the crown of some other company.
Let me tell you what a SPAC is real quick.
This is from CNBC.
A Special Purpose Acquisitions Company is essentially a shell company set up by investors with the sole purpose of raising money through an IPO to eventually acquire another company.
For instance, Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp was set up in 2019 and went public as a SPAC that December.
It then announced a merger with DraftKings and gambling tech platform SBT Tech.
Draftkings began trading as a public company when the deal closed in April.
So a SPAC has no commercial operations, makes no product, sells nothing.
In fact, their only asset is typically the money raised in its own IPO.
Usually a SPAC is created or sponsored by a team of institutional investors, Wall Street
professionals from the world of private equity or hedge funds, while even high profile CEOs
like Richard Branson and Tilman Fertitta have jumped on the trend and formed their own SPACs.
That's because when a SPAC raises money, the people buying into the IPO do not know what
the eventual acquisition target company will be.
Institutional investors with track records of success can more easily convince people
to invest in the unknown.
That's also why a SPAC is also called a blank check company.
Once the IPO raises capital, SPAC IPOs are usually priced at $10 a share.
That money goes into an interest-bearing trust account until the SPAC's founders or management team finds a private company looking to go public through an acquisition.
So what they're trying to say, or at least what it sounds like is, I don't know if what they're basically saying, that Vice will go public and then be bought out.
Is that the plan?
Maybe there was never any real end goal for Vice.
But it's, you know what, man?
It's the end of an era.
And maybe a lot of people, maybe most of you watching don't care that much about Vice.
It's sad, isn't it?
I remember watching that video.
Ryan Duffy bulletproof clothing.
Wasn't that fun?
The biggest ass in Brazil.
Wasn't that fun?
They used to do a lot of fun and interesting shows.
It was like Vice was showing you this side of the world of interesting, weird, and wild things that existed right before us that we didn't see.
That we didn't know about.
Because the media didn't care to tell us about it.
And then all of a sudden we had this very interesting show.
Now, I do think a lot of what Vice's success is was built upon YouTube and Google.
You see, when Vice first started making these documentaries, YouTube needed to compete with the likes of Netflix and other digital, you know, rising digital operations.
So all of a sudden, Vice documentaries are featured.
Look, you had people on YouTube that were doing stuff like this, and YouTube was like, that's not strong enough to beat Netflix now.
Don't get me wrong.
They've quickly realized the authentic conversation and podcast is one of their biggest opportunities.
YouTube is the biggest podcast platform, that's my understanding.
So Vice started making these documentaries.
YouTube said, this is what we want people to watch, because they're fun, exciting, interesting, and it's going to make people want to be on YouTube.
This made Vice huge.
It gave them a massive digital platform.
And they rolled with it.
And I was excited to watch these things.
I had such fun.
I remember 2012, I'm like sitting in, you know, my apartment, and we're watching these Vice Docs.
I'm like, this is so cool, dude.
I want to do this stuff.
I want to go on these adventures.
I want to go, you know, crawl through the underground of Las Vegas and see, like, the mole people, or whatever they call them.
And they used to do that, and then they stopped, and it became so boring.
It's one of the reasons I left.
I mean, when I was there, I went to Ukraine during the conflict, and we did that on the ground.
Here's what's happening.
Here's what we're seeing.
I went to Venezuela.
I had to flee the country.
I went to Thailand.
These things were so exciting and so much fun.
And then it just started becoming cookie cutter.
You know, they were trying to expand, and they didn't realize that... You know what's interesting?
Not the news cycle.
It's funny.
I brought news to them, and then they became, I guess, corporately obsessed with it.
I don't know why.
But here we go.
It's the end of an era.
Cable news viewing falls versus quarter four.
MSNBC dominates total day.
Sure, congratulations MSNBC, but your ratings are way, way down.
Everybody's getting hit by the Trump slump.
There was this grace period, I suppose, where everyone got to freak out for four years because Trump was president.
Now they're all starting to fall apart.
What's left today?
of companies like Vice.
They're just activist corporate husks struggling to figure out how to make money.
And it's almost like they forgot what people liked about it.
Reminds me of, there's like a lot of bands, you know?
You ever listen to a band, and they put out their first EP, or their first album, and you're like, this is really good, it's raw, it's rough, it's edgy, this dude's voice isn't perfect, but he's singing, you can feel it, and he's rocking that acoustic guitar?
Then they get signed to a label, they get a budget, and they produce it the way they've always dreamed of, and then you're like, this is just more cookie-cutter garbage.
I'm gonna avoid naming that band I'm speaking of in particular, but you can probably think of some.
It's what happens with Vice.
I don't want that to happen.
I want it to be rough and edgy.
So you know what I'm going to do?
This is what we're doing over at TimCast.com.
Are you a member yet?
You should become a member at TimCast.com.
I'm going to start putting together these adventure documentaries.
And maybe there won't be a strong enough schedule because we're not going to force it.
We're not going to go and do a boring, stodgy, I'm standing here at the border watching several... No.
We're going to be like sending out some dude.
To go to, you know, bulletproof clothing and direct energy weapons and just have fun with it.
Make it fun, silly, off-the-cuff, edgy, real.
Just do it.
Low budget.
That's the key.
Always low budget.
You start dumping all this money into it, getting this camera crew.
Man, you know what really made me laugh?
I was in Berkeley, and I guess, you know, Milo Yiannopoulos was there or something with a bunch of people, and they were doing their thing.
And a Vice crew from Vice News showed up, and they had like three camera guys, a producer walking around, and a boom mic operator.
I'm like, dude!
When I went out into Ukraine, it was me and a guy with a camera.
The same camera I'm actually using right now, which is kind of ridiculous to be completely honest.
Actually, that's not true.
It is an upgraded version.
But it was funny that, like, we would go out with just a single camera, two people.
And it's like, go film that guy doing his thing.
And it was fun.
And it was interesting.
Then it became just, like, major corporate TV.
And it's sad, isn't it?
So what do you think?
Do we want that kind of stuff back?
Vlogs did really, really well, but vlogs were a little too silly and foofy.
Nah, we want fun and exciting.
We don't want crazy danger and shootouts and war stuff, necessarily.
I mean, it's always good to report the news, so I'll definitely be working in that direction.
But we also want an interesting show where interesting people bring you interesting things.
It's that simple.
Wasn't there something just inherently interesting about seeing a regular dude find himself in a jungle with a dealer giving him scopolamine?
And they didn't do anything with it, if you've seen this Vystock.
They just had it and they were like, what do we do?
Flush it down the toilet!
And they did nothing with it, but it was just like crazy.
Why can't we get that stuff back?
Instead, everything's becoming more and more corporate cookie-cutter.
Yeah, guys, you forgot what made it interesting.
Get woke, go broke.
That's exactly it.
It's becoming this stodgy, dressed-up, moral authoritarian.
It is rigid, it is boring, and it is failing.
Why would somebody want to invest in a SPAC?
To what, acquire Vice Media?
Is that the plan?
I don't necessarily know what their plan is.
They say, to go public following a merger with 7GC and Co Holdings, a special purpose acquisition company, according to a report.
So what does that mean?
They're going to merge with a SPAC?
And then take cash?
Like as a way to effectively make Vice a public company?
Does Vice need money that bad?
Is this really the end?
You know, at a certain point, I just have to wonder when you just decide to stop growing, because infinite media growth is just not gonna happen forever.
But you know what?
Maybe this is kind of a send-off now.
Seeing this story, I was like, oh.
It's been ten years.
Ten years.
Since they were putting out those documentaries.
Ten years ago.
Maybe it's just gone now.
And maybe that means that if you like something, and it goes away because, you know, people age out, the people who ran it don't care anymore, then you gotta make it yourself.
So what are you gonna do?
What are we gonna do?
Media's collapsing, cable ratings are down, sports viewership is down, everything's getting woke and going broke.
Tim Cass is doing alright.
And it's because of all of you guys who are watching.
And so we're gonna go nuts with it.
We're gonna do things way differently.
I'm sick of the game.
I'm sick of the machine.
I'm sick of the establishment.
I'm sick of people just not having guts.
Isn't everything so boring?
Where's any one of these rich people to do something disruptive?
To make a statement?
We got Elon Musk.
I mean, he made a flamethrower.
That was pretty cool.
He's building a starship and creating his own city.
Those are all really cool things.
What about just buying billboards that are nonsensical, just disrupt, to culture jam, to make a point about this moral authoritarianism, the rigid garbage.
Vice used to be the edgy guys going around saying, F you, I'll do what I want.
And then they became the machine.
That's sad.
The machine ate him alive.
It's possible that happens to us in the long run, but, you know, and I'll only be alive for so long.
Reminds me of Wendy's.
I remember people used to tell me this, that Wendy's had a salad bar.
I vaguely remember this, maybe it's not true, I don't know.
And then Dave Thomas, the founder, died, and then, ah, now we're gonna make it like McDonald's.
That's how it goes, right?
You either die the hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
Maybe it'll happen to us.
But I'll tell you what I'm planning on doing.
We got TimCast.com rolling out.
We got a major update coming, hopefully next week.
It's taking longer than we thought.
I said last week, maybe this week.
It's taking longer, you know why?
Because we have to make sure that everyone, you know, all the members are protected and we're getting the system right.
So, you know, better safe than sorry.
And for now, TimCast.com functions.
But I'm doing it now.
I am going to start taking pitches for many docs.
We're going to start funding this stuff.
It's going to be epic.
And we're going to have them up, and it's going to be members only.
It's going to be a service where you sign up, become a member, and you'll get access to this big library of content, same as you would with any other major service.
It's going to be huge.
Because I'm going to bring back what Vice had, and what they lost.
And I'm going to do my best.
I'm far from perfect.
But that's my mission.
I'm going to make it happen.
Sad to see Vice go.
I don't know if they deserve a Viking funeral at this point.
I will not let what I'm going to be built, what I'm doing, become a skin suit to be worn by cultists, corporatists, weirdos.
