Dereliction of Duty - TX Fire Chief's Catastrophic Failure to Act + The Vindication of Doug Mackey

Summary

Podcast Summary: Human Events Daily with Jack Posobic Episode: Dereliction of Duty - TX Fire Chief's Catastrophic Failure to Act + The Vindication of Doug Mackey
Release Date: July 9, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of Human Events Daily, host Jack Posobic delves into two significant topics: the alleged failure of Texas Fire Chief Joel Baker during the deadly floods in Kerrville, Texas, and the recent legal vindication of Doug Mackey, a former Navy intelligence veteran. The episode intertwines these discussions with broader critiques of federal agencies and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

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1. Catastrophic Failure of TX Fire Chief Joel Baker

Overview: The episode opens with distressing reports of severe flooding in the Texas Hill Country, resulting in over 100 fatalities. Central to the discussion is the criticism directed at Fire Chief Joel Baker of Austin, Texas, for not deploying necessary rescue resources ahead of the disaster.

Key Points:

• Missed Opportunities: Fire Chief Baker reportedly ignored pre-deployment orders issued on July 2nd, two days before the devastating floods struck on July 4th.
• Resource Denial: Despite having trained rescue swimmers and swiftboats ready, Baker declined to deploy these assets, citing budgetary constraints.
• Consequences: The lack of timely action is believed to have contributed to the high death toll, with Chief Baker expressing remorse but deflecting responsibility.

Notable Quotes:

• Fire Chief Joel Baker:
  "[00:01:55] 'Our firefighters are trained for that area. Our firefighters have the equipment. They have the desire, they have the will. They have the power to go up. And actually I know some of those girls could have survived if we had had the best boat crew the day before on scene. I know it. I know it in my heart.'"

• Jack Posobic:
  "[00:28:46] 'So the best boat team wasn't there, wasn't on site the day before or even two days before this took place. By the way, this is what a good disaster response force does.'"

Analysis: Posobic argues that Chief Baker's failure to act was influenced by a focus on DEI initiatives over practical disaster preparedness, suggesting that diversity agendas compromised operational effectiveness. He calls for a criminal negligence investigation into Chief Baker's decisions, emphasizing the need for accountability.

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2. The Vindication of Doug Mackey

Overview: Doug Mackey's case receives significant attention as his conviction for posting a meme in 2016 is overturned by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Mackey attributes his wrongful prosecution to political motives aligned with the Department of Justice's (DOJ) stance against Trump supporters.

Key Points:

• Case Background: Mackey was arrested in December 2020, seven days after President Joe Biden's inauguration, for creating a meme in 2016.
• Court's Decision: The appeals court dismissed the case, citing insufficient evidence, labeling Mackey's conviction as unfounded.
• Political Undertones: Mackey claims the prosecution was politically motivated, aiming to target Trump supporters without substantive evidence.

Notable Quotes:

• Doug Mackey:
  "[00:07:52] 'Today is a day of vindication. It's four and a half years in the making. And this was not overturned on some kind of technicality or even on a constitutional nature. The court just ordered the district court to enter a judgment of acquittal, a full acquittal, based on the fact that they did not have any evidence to support this conviction.'"

• Jack Posobic:
  "[00:14:29] 'Doug, Doug, we got a quick break here... this ruling actually means... you are fighting not just for yourself, but you didn't want them to be able to do this to anybody else.'"

Analysis: Posobic highlights Mackey's refusal to accept a presidential pardon to set a legal precedent, framing the victory as a defense of free speech and a warning against governmental overreach. The discussion underscores ongoing tensions between conservative figures and federal authorities.

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3. Critique of DEI Initiatives and Federal Agencies

Overview: The podcast extends its critique beyond local incidents, targeting federal agencies like the DOJ and the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) for alleged partisan bias and overreach in prosecuting political dissenters.

Key Points:

• DOJ's Partisan Actions: Mackey implicates the DOJ and EDNY in orchestrating politically motivated cases against Trump allies.
• DEI as a Distraction: Posobic and Mackey argue that DEI initiatives are diverting focus from essential public safety and operational effectiveness.
• Call for Reform: The duo advocates for purging federal agencies of perceived partisan elements and enforcing accountability among prosecutors.

Notable Quotes:

• Doug Mackey:
  "[00:14:40] 'They were bringing Tom Barrack to court, who was acquitted on all charges. So the EDNY is a total cesspit.'"

• Jack Posobic:
  "[00:16:37] 'This is a call to action to reclaim the future, to ignite a movement that cannot be ignored.'"

Analysis: The conversation paints a picture of systemic failure within federal institutions, suggesting that political biases undermine justice and public trust. There's a strong emphasis on the need for internal reforms to restore integrity and impartiality.

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4. Announcements and Closing Remarks

Overview: The episode concludes with announcements about upcoming political events and campaigns, reinforcing the podcast's alignment with conservative and pro-Trump agendas.

Key Points:

• Student Action Summit 2025: Promotion of a conference aimed at empowering young conservatives and future leaders.
• Doug Mackey's Congressional Run: Mackey announces his candidacy for Congress in Tennessee's 7th district, positioning himself as a staunch supporter of President Trump.

Notable Quotes:

• Doug Mackey:
  "[00:35:45] 'President Trump is the GOP's quarterback and I am running for Congress in the special election for the 7th district here in Tennessee to block, to tackle, to run the ball and help him advance his agenda down the field.'"

• Jack Posobic:
  "[00:36:50] 'It's illegal aliens. This is the top issue for, I believe, as our nation is. It is, is it, is it as much of an issue in, in Tennessee in your district as well?'"

Analysis: These segments serve to mobilize the podcast's audience towards active political engagement, emphasizing themes of patriotism, free speech, and opposition to perceived governmental overreach.

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Conclusion

This episode of Human Events Daily weaves together critiques of local government failures and federal overreach, framed within a broader narrative of defending conservative values and free speech. Through the stories of Fire Chief Joel Baker's alleged negligence and Doug Mackey's legal battle, the podcast underscores themes of accountability, political bias, and the struggle against institutionalized opposition. The closing segments further galvanize the audience towards political activism and support for like-minded candidates.

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Note: This summary is based on the provided transcript and aims to present the content accurately without endorsement or critique of the views expressed within the podcast.

Transcript

[Jack Posobic]

I want to take a second to remind you to sign up for the POSO Daily Brief. It is completely free. It'll be one email that's sent to you every day. You can stop the endless scrolling trying to find out what's going on in your world. We will have this delivered directly to you totally for free. Go to humanevents.com poso Sign up today. It's called the POSO Daily Brief. Read what I read for show prep. You will not regret it. Human Events.com poso Totally free the POSO Daily Brief. This is what happens when the fourth turning meets fifth generation warfare. A commentator, international social media sensation and.

[Doug Mackey]

Former Navy intelligence veteran.

[Jack Posobic]

This is Human Events with your host Jack Posobic. Christ is overnight Russia launching its largest aerial assault on Ukraine since the start of the war. Ukrainian Officials say over 700 drones were launched by but most were shot down or intercepted. A major win for President Trump. The Supreme Court sided with his plan to dramatically reshape federal agencies.

[News Reporter]

The number of people missing from Friday's deadly flooding in the Hill country. At least 161 people are unaccounted for in the Kerrville area. That includes five Camp mystic campers and one counselor. 87 people are confirmed dead in Kerr county and now eight people are confirmed dead in neighboring Kendall County. The total number of people killed across Texas from this storm system is 110.

[Fire Chief Joel Baker]

Our firefighters are trained for that area. Our firefighters have the equipment. They have the desire, they have the will. They have the power to go up. And actually I know some of those girls could have been survived if we had had the best boat crew the day before on scene. I know it. I know it in my heart. I know it as a battalion chief. I know it as a former Swiftwater tech myself. And the fact that.

[Jack Posobic]

We didn't do.

[Fire Chief Joel Baker]

It and we let them down is just, it's unconscionable.

What's important is I'm not the last African American fire chief that's more important.

[Fire Association President]

Than the first Chief Baker now oversees 49 stations. He says his goal for the department has changed over time, but one has stuck through it all.

[Fire Chief Joel Baker]

One of my goals is really to increase the diversity of the Austin Fire Department.

[Jack Posobic]

The Trump administration pushing back against calls to fire Attorney General Pam Bondi over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. A Justice Department report this week revealed the accused sex trafficker did not keep a secret so called client list. All right, folks. Jack Posopic Here we are live. Washington, D.C. today is July 9, 2025. Anno Domini. Very excited to be here. We've got to have a great guest on for you in just a few minutes. His name is Doug Mackey, and he's got a big victory for all of us and for all of our rights. He'll be with you here in a few minutes. But I got to tell you something, folks. I'm upset. I was doing intervals today, and I'm upset because I'm so angry, because I'm sick of the lies. I'm sick of the lies out of Kerrville, Texas. I'm sick out of the lies out of Austin, Texas, and I'm absolutely sick of the lies out of the Department of Justice and the Attorney General's office. Sick of this. You looked at us. You looked at us and you lied right to our faces and you said, there's going to be more. There's going to be more coming. Where is it? Where is it? Where's the unsealed documents? Where are the case files? Where are the flight logs? Where are the transcripts? Put it all out. And they said, oh, we can't show you because it's. It's the victims. It's the victims. It's the victims. And doing the same thing down there in Kerrville, they say, oh, well, you know, we can't ask any of those questions about the victims. Excuse me. Excuse me. No, no. It's time to take accountability. It's time to show leadership. And leadership is not scolding people for asking questions. When in one case, right down there in Kerrville, where you've got, what, 40 young girls who are dead, and I don't even know how many more total over 100. Then up in Jeffrey Epstein, which spanned all around the world, you've got potentially hundreds more young girls. You understand? This is what's going on here. These are the young girls of our country. These girls, these children. And in both cases, they were let down. And in both cases, you got people in power that are trying to pass the buck, that are trying to pass the heat, that are trying to play the blame game. Will someone take responsibility? Because that's what I thought MAGA was about. That's why. Certainly what I thought Texas was about. And I'm not seeing a lot of that right now. I'm not. I'm seeing a lot of people want to play games, want to pass the buck. No, no, we're not going to do that around here. We're going to demand answers. We're going to demand accountability. And if you knew something before this flood took place, Mr. Mayor, anything at all, then you need to be honest. And if you can't be honest, you gotta go. You gotta go. You should resign yourself before you get placed under investigation. Be right back.

[Unknown Speaker]

Nothing will stand in our way. And our golden age has just begun.

[Jack Posobic]

This is Human Events with Jack. Now it's time for everyone to understand what America first truly means. Welcome to the second American Revolution. All right, folks, Jack Posobic back live human events daily. And folks, I gotta tell you, this is a big one. This is a really big one here. Real America's voice. We're gonna have a huge, huge guest here in just a minute because this is something that's been almost 10 years in the making. Just an absolute odyssey. But folks, before that, real quick, I want you to remind you to please support our sponsors. They're the people that help us keep the lights on to keep the cameras rolling. And right now what you're going to do is you're going to go to patriotmobile.com poso or call 972patriot because all patriots will go to patriotmobile.composo to get their free month of service with promo code poso. It's so simple. Look, you've got a variety of choices out there for cell phone service. We all have it. We all need it. We're stuck with them. It is what it is. That's the future. But why not? If you have to have that as a necessity now, why wouldn't you go and partner with a company and with a cell phone service that doesn't support wokeness, that doesn't support dei, one that actually supports firefighters and rescue swimmers and veterans and military and pro life and second amendment and freedom of speech and freedom of religion. And that one, the only one out there that does all that is Patriot Mobile. So all patriots right now, within sound of my voice, go to patriotmobile.com poso and call 972 Patriot. You will get your free month of service with promo code POSO. They've got great deals all summer. Check them out. Patriotmobile.com poso alright, without further ado, I need to get our next guest on because for a long time this is a guy who's had quite a bit hanging over his head. But now, now he will be returned to full and absolute restoration of his rights because of a case that was just thrown out in the second court, second district court of appeals in New York. Ladies and gentlemen, Doug Mackey joins Human Events Daily. He was convicted, arrested, indicted and convicted for making a meme all the way back in 2016, that case has finally, at long last, been dismissed. Doug, how are you?

[Doug Mackey]

Great to be here, Jack.

[Jack Posobic]

It's a great day, I gotta tell you. I mean, I gotta ask, how does it feel? How does it feel after all this?

[Doug Mackey]

It feels absolutely incredible. Today is a day of vindication. It's four and a half years in the making. And this was not. This case was not overturned on some kind of technicality or even on a constitutional nature. The court, just. The circuit court just ordered the district court to enter a judgment of acquittal, a full acquittal, based on the fact that they did not have any evidence to support this conviction, which confirms what we knew all along. They brought this conviction because Joe Biden stole the election and they wanted to put a Trump supporter on trial. They wanted to arrest Trump supporters and make an example out of them, even though they did not have sufficient evidence to prove that any crime was committed.

[Jack Posobic]

And so I want. I want people to understand the timeline here, because this case, the. The. The tweet, you know, the meme, the activity that they're talking about here, that took place in 2016, but your indictment and arrest didn't come until December of 2020. Hmm. December of 2020. That's kind of interesting timing, isn't it?

[Doug Mackey]

Absolutely. And they didn't move this case forward. You know, some Bill Barr, love him or hate him, even Bill Barr would not bring this case and put a stamp on this case. They put a stop on this case. And we know a little bit about this from a little bit of reporting by Reuters, if you can believe it, that the Trump DOJ did not want to bring this case, and they did not bring this case because they understood that there was insufficient evidence, according to reporting from Reuters, that did not stop Joe Biden's lackeys from making this case a priority. I was arrested seven days after Joe Biden was inaugurated.

[Jack Posobic]

So your arrest comes seven. And I want people to understand that, that this was the height of the, you know, at the time, this was all about censorship. It was the height. And this. This push, push, this massive push for censoring online voices, for censorship of political speech online, for censorship of the ability of anyone to engage in the political process by using social media. And the height of all of this, the extremism reporters, many of which were in the trial there with you, that actually went and visited this because they knew exactly what it was, that it was their work, working in conjunction with the doj, the splc, was all, all over this case from that perspective. That they wanted you to be the first of many to be a test case, to say we can start locking up patriots for memes. That's what's really what was going on here, wasn't it?

[Doug Mackey]

Absolutely. And we don't know the full extent of cooperation between the doj, career actors at the doj. Yes, These people work for Trump and they have nothing to do with Trump or anything like that. These are career actors that have been there a long time. They hate Trump. And when I went on trial, you're absolutely right, the atmosphere was so dark and so dreary and the fight was so lonely. This was right when they were dragging Trump through the mud. And he was actually, I believe, indicted during my trial, believe it or not, for the first time, the first indictment. We don't know the extent to which the ADL and the SPLC and all of these censorship organizations were working in conjunction with the doj. And we may never know. Hopefully the truth comes out one day. But they were there in the court. They were practically sniggering to themselves. They were celebrating. They were actually one of them almost got himself kicked out of the court at one point. And now, I guess, as you know, as we all could see, there was no evidence for a conviction. I mean, anybody with eyes to see could see it. And people that got to know the case, even people that didn't like me or that didn't like Trump, realized that there was nothing to this case. And the only people who supported this case were blind partisans on the Democrat side, far left activists and the doj. So what does that tell you about the Deep State?

[Jack Posobic]

No, it's very clear that this is a partnership between the these individuals, these hard left organizations and elements of the Department of Justice, who I've certainly been taking aim at this whole week. Really. And by the way, there was something that you mentioned. I think it was the last time we had you on the show where people understand this is a federal case. And obviously, President Trump returned to office back in January. He had the pardon pen there. He did the mass pardons of the J6ers. He's done pardon after pardon. But you actually had the opportunity to receive a pardon from President Trump and you refused to go for that pardon. Walk me through that process and what this means.

[Doug Mackey]

Yes, absolutely. So that is true. We had the opportunity to go to Donald Trump for a pardon and we chose not to at the time that, you know, Trump was inaugurated. And why was that? We had a very strong appeal and the vindication, I got to tell you is much sweeter than even a pardon. As great as it would be to get a pardon signed by the president, which would be incredible. This vindication is even better. We had. We knew we had a strong appeal. We knew the government's evidence was insufficient. And not only that, there, we believe their prosecution was also deficient on the law. And the Second Circuit did not rule on those matters because they don't have to. As soon as they find a point of agreement, they throw out the conviction and they punt on the other matter. So we still feel like their prosecution was legally insufficient in addition to the evidence being insufficient.

[Jack Posobic]

And I just want to double stomp on that so people understand, is that you refused. You could have gone to the president, and I'm sure the president in his heart of hearts would have, would have looked at this situation, giving you a pardon, but you didn't. And you kept on in this fight, fighting not just for yourself, because you knew that you could get out, but you didn't want them to be able to do this to anybody else. So you stayed in this fight using money from your own pocket, going on shows, going out of places, crowdfunding money so that you could do this for others. That's what this, me, this ruling actually means.

[Doug Mackey]

Absolutely. That's entirely right. We knew we wanted to set a precedent and we wanted to send a message to the doj. Not that they could say, oh, the biggest message.

[Jack Posobic]

Doug, Doug, we got a quick break here. Hold that thought. I want to hold you over. We'll be right back. Man. Incredible victory. Huge here in Washington, D.C.

[Doug Mackey]

Today.

[Unknown Speaker]

You know, they talk about influencers. These are influencers, and they're friends of mine. Jack. Where's Jack? Jack. He's got a great guy.

[Jack Posobic]

All right, folks, Jack Wisobic. Here we are back, Human Events Daily. And we're on with Doug Mackey with just an incredible story. And I want to reiterate this for folks out there, is that Doug was arrested, he was indicted, and he was convicted for posting a meme. In 2016, the Biden DOJ went after him, put him through all of this. They wanted to throw him in jail for seven months over a meme. And now that case has been overturned. And by the way, he refused to request a pardon from President Trump so that he could get this set as settled precedent for everyone else out there that your right to meme would be protected. So, folks, memes are legal again. Post your memes. Get them hot right now. It's an incredible service. Doug is a master patriot. First Patriot Gold status. And, and Doug, I do have to ask, though, on a serious note, you know, what sort of things or what sort of moves as you've been through this process, obviously you've learned so much more than you did a decade ago about how all of this works. What sort of things would you like to see from the, the Trump doj, or even on the congressional side to protect this type of behavior from happening again?

[Doug Mackey]

Well, great question. First of all, I think that personnel is policy. And if you look at what the FBI did and the doj, and specifically the EDNY did, is they sat on this case for over two years because the Trump goj, the Trump appointees, rather, wouldn't pursue this case because they thought it was an impeachment on freedom of speech. Not only that, they realized that the evidence was insufficient. Personnel is policy. And something like 60% of the current FBI agents, unfortunately, were hired under Christopher Wray. And I think you really need to go through, through each of these field offices, which is admittedly a daunting task, and clean out the people that were hired for their partisan political affiliations because they're lgbt, because they're a woman, or whatever reason they were hired, other than them being the best candidates for the job. And we see that in my case with the lead agent, a woman named Megan Reese, who I believe is still working at the FBI in the Boston field office. Not only that, prosecutors looked at this evidence, they saw that it was a joke, and they still felt like they would, wanted to bring the hammer down and try to get a conviction. And so those individuals need to be disciplined. And the EDNY specifically, is one of the worst actors out there. They're known to be cowboy prosecutors who will bring any kind of case knowing that a journey will go along, knowing that most of the district court judges, I hate to say it, are, are complicit. And they never get disciplined for misleading the court. They never get disciplined. So these prosecutors need to face discipline. Heads really need to roll. And the edny, let me, let me remind you, they indicted President Trump's one of his best friends, Tom Barack, who was acquitted on all charges of being a federal agent. So the EDNY is a total cesspit. And I would encourage President Trump to go into the entire EDNY and the SDNY while he's had it, and clean those offices out, clean the FBI out. And it needs to be legislation could make clear that this statute 241 should not be used against pure lawful speech.

[Jack Posobic]

Well, no, it certainly shouldn't. And, and you're right. This idea of cleaning house needs to be done. And I actually understand that a lot of these U.S. attorney spots, I don't know if Edmy is one of them, but a lot of U.S. attorney slots or all around the country are still being left vacant. We've got so many people that are waiting for their approval through the United States Senate, and there's a huge backlog on this. I mean, we're seven months into the Trump administration or, you know, six and a half. You want to be serious, but they're pedantic. But at the same time, they've. They've got to go through and this idea of what you've done, Doug, and I want to be serious about this. And I hope and I know that there have been some dark moments here. Obviously, on the day of your conviction, that was a dark day, but you went through all of this. So it is now settled law for our whole country that anyone who is getting involved in the political process, anyone who's posting online, like we all do every day in this country, whether you're on the left or the right or you're on Twitch or whatever platform it is, that you have the right to engage in politics. And that's what we've always stood for in the MAGA movement. It's, don't censor us. We will beat you, you know, on the battlefield. Just don't go after us and let us step up and actually fight on an even basis. It's really as simple as that. Equal treatment before the law, Doug, where people go to follow you. And, man, just God bless you. Happy, happy 4th of July and all the rest.

[Doug Mackey]

Thank you, sir. Thank you so much. Yes. Please follow me on Twitter at Doug Mackey case, please if you can. We still got legal debts and we still got to fund a lawsuit against the government. So. Meme defense fund.comm e m e defense.

[Jack Posobic]

He's suing the government, folks. Meme Defense Fund, he's suing them back. It's time to take the fight to them. Doug Mackey. This guy doesn't stop fighting. He wakes up fighting. He fights in his sleep, folks. He fighting his sleep. MAGA Fight club. Be right back.

[Unknown Speaker]

And Jack, Where's Jack? Where's Jack? Where is he? Jack, I want to see you. Great job, Jack. Thank you. What a job you do. You know, we have an incredible thing. We're always talking about the fake news and the bad, but we have guys, and these are the guys should be getting policies.

[Jack Posobic]

All right, Jack Paso, look, here we are back Human events daily Washington, D.C. well, folks, there's been another story that has been going on and you know, we've been covering it here and there. We certainly made mention of it, of the horrific tragedy down in Kerrville, Texas. All of these young girls who have been killed in this flood, all of the people who've been killed in the flood, we understand now the death toll is over 100. They're still obviously recovering people. And those operations go. Are ongoing. But there was an interesting post that came up on Facebook and this came up down there in Austin, Texas, not far from Kerrville as the crow flies. And it was from the Austin Fire association. And it started making the rounds last night on Twitter. I found it, I started looking into it some more. I started doing some more digging on this and then I started sending it out to every single person that I knew. And yes, to Steve Bannon, to Charlie Kirk, to everyone to try to get the attention libs of TikTok, all the rest. People know who I know and to get this, the attention that it deserves that there was a situation whereby in. Whereby in the Austin Fire association president goes up and gives this dissertation where he reveals the fact that they had deployment orders, pre deployment orders on July 2nd. So I want people to understand the timeline here. July 4th, that's when the floods hit. That's when the rains fell. But on July 2, when people in town and people in the state of Texas knew that something was coming, the state issued down pre deployment orders to all the surrounding areas. Well, Austin obviously is a huge city compared to some of these small towns. They've got a massive fire response force and disaster response force. And it turns out that they have incredibly, some of the best trained rescue swimmers, what they call Swiftwater techs in the entire country who specifically train for. For the Hill country. Because that's exactly where these incidents have happened in the past. Even in the 1980s, there was an entire busload of campers that went down here in a very similar situation because the water rose to flash flood conditions. But here's the problem is that the fire chief, Fire Chief Joel Baker refused the deployment and he said no. He said, we will not pre deploy boats. We will not pre deploy the rescue swimmers. We will not pre deploy these assets. Even though this has come down from the governor's office. And the Fire association says this isn't a budgetary issue. He said there was a budget issue. He said there's no budget issue. You would get reimbursed. He said, how could it be reimbursed? And so they didn't deploy even again on the third. He was asked again the next day. He said, are you sure you don't want to do this? We really would like to. And that you had firefighters and rescue swimmers and the swift boats and everybody set up saying, we will go. Let us go. Just let us go. And the chief denied it, denied it, denied it, denied it over and over again until finally the floods came. And then they were running around, sitting there saying, oh, we didn't know. We didn't have any warning. How could you have said you have no warning if you denied it? It's as simple as that. And maybe it's because you had some other priorities or on your mind than saving lives and coordinating disaster relief. So let's play some tape from this guy. His name is Fire Chief Joel Baker. Fire Chief Joel Baker from Austin, Texas. Let's go listen to Fire Chief Joel Baker and his priorities.

[Fire Chief Joel Baker]

What's important is I'm not the last African American fire chief that's more important than the first.

[Fire Association President]

Chief Baker now oversees 49 stations and around 1200 employees. He says his goal for the department has changed over time, but one has stuck through it all.

[Fire Chief Joel Baker]

One of my goals is really to increase the diversity of the Austin Fire Department. It need to reflect more of the community we serve, because I believe the youth of the Austin, you know, youth in general, you will be what you see. So for those young African American, young Latinos, or people in the Asian community or the LGBT community, they see more firefighters that look like them and have similar values of them.

[Unknown Speaker]

It does so much for the community. And Luther Law, when he first called me, I think when I first became the fire chief here about four years ago, he really introduced me to. Helped introduce me to the African American community and this community as a whole in Austin. But to have them to continue to do more than just deal with the youth, I mean, it's a bigger footprint, although Youth Harvest foundation in the name, but it really go beyond the youth, at least in my opinion, to have this organization be so engaged in the community, being involved in the African American Youth Heritage foundation has really given me an opportunity to give back to the community, give back to a community that has given me so much, given me so many opportunities. I'm just really hopeful and pray that I give back to the community more than I have received. And this organization, the African American Youth Harvest foundation, it's one opportunity for me to get better. So I'm very thankful for that.

[Jack Posobic]

So there you go, folks. Another DEI hire pushing DEI tactics. And by the way, it was the Obama administration that came in originally back in 2014, sued the city of Austin regarding their, quote, lack of diversity and saying that they needed more diversity. Include diversity, inclusion income and equity programs within the Austin Fire Department. And by the way, the do. The Obama DOJ did this all over the country. So when you have situations like this and you wonder why is it that the best of the best are saying. Raising their hands and saying, lord, send me, Lord, here I am. Send me. And you got this DEI hirer up there saying that he won't do it, saying. He said, I don't worry about it. It's a budget thing. And they said, well, what about reimbursements? We can just get reimbursed from the state. And they said he couldn't understand the concept of reimbursements, that the money will come from the. We pay the money now, but the state will pay the money later. It's a. It's a pretty simple concept. But no, he's up there saying, oh, no, no, it's all about. It's all about diversity. That's what we need. We need diversity, diversity, diversity. And by the way, I saw some people on saying, well, oh, I'm only hearing this from Posobic, you know, are you. Where. Where is this coming from? Is just Pacific. No, I. I've got the fire association. Here we go. Here's the Austin Fire association president. Let's hear from him.

[Fire Chief Joel Baker]

Our firefighters are trained for that area. Our firefighters have the equipment, they have the desire, they have the will. They have the power to go up. And actually, I know some of those girls could have been survived if we had had the best boat crew the day before on scene. I know it. I know it in my heart. I know it as a battalion chief. I know it as a former Swiftwater tech myself. And the fact that.

[Jack Posobic]

We didn't do.

[Fire Chief Joel Baker]

It and we let them down is just. It's unconscionable.

[Jack Posobic]

So the best boat team wasn't there, wasn't on site the day before or even two days before this took place. By the way, this is what a good disaster response force does. So ajdr, we did, you know, I did a little bit of this type of operations when I was in. When I was in the military. We call it humanitarian assistance, Humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, or ajdr. And it's, you know, it's. These are the types of plans and pre plans that you would have if, you know, you're going into a season like that. If you See something that looks bad in the forecast, you say, hey, can we pre deploy some assets? And you know what? Maybe nothing happens. All right? Maybe nothing. But that's why we spend the money. This is the basic construct that you have between the social contract of a people and a government. The very basic building block of why we have government at all is for the common safety, public safety. That's what it's there for. That's what our taxes are supposed to be going towards. That's why we have these things in the first place. Police, fire, rescue. Okay, all of it. We understand, we understand. By the way, I've always been a huge supporter of all of this military, the rest. But you don't abuse it. And DEI is an abuse of that. I want to put out another example because people say, whoa, maybe this guy wasn't really that woke. And, you know, maybe he was chosen. It wasn't great. Okay, here you go. Here's something from. From 2021. In 2021, Dr. Andrew F. Fox was the lead chaplain in a volunteer capacity for the Austin Fire Department. But that chaplain of the fire department, he'd been there for eight years. He was dismissed in December of 2021. By who? Oh, Fire Chief Joel Baker. And why did Fire Chief Joel Baker dismiss the chaplain? Well, because he wrote on his blog his religious views regarding, you're going to love this. Transgender women participating in women's sports. So he wrote on his personal. This is the chaplain of the fire department. Volunteer fire chaplain went in. By the way, the chaplain is the person who sits there before these men have to go into one of these situations where they're conducting rescue swims, where they're going into literally running into burning buildings to try to save people, to save lives, to save jobs. Children like the children who died in this situation, the chaplain's the one who prays for them. And the chaplain, by the way, when you have a situation like this where something doesn't go right, the chaplain's someone who could be there for those men, someone for them to be able to talk to, someone that they know, someone that they trust. But this chaplain was fired by police, by Fire Chief Joel Baker, because of his religious. Which, by the way, it's not just a Christian, but belief. It's common sense belief that trans women, or I don't even know what the right word is, transgenders, shouldn't be participating in women's sports. It's as simple as that. But you fired him. You fired him because you're woke. You fired him because you're a DEI hire. And now when you look at the situation, when we look at the floods. Fire Chief Joel Baker. All right, this needs to be investigated. There needs to be a criminal negligence investigation opened into Fire Chief Joel Baker. What did you know? When did you know it? And why did you deny these requests? Why did you deny the requests of your team, of the team under you, the people who have lived in Texas their whole lives? This guy is not from Texas. He's from. He was. He just came over from Atlanta. They know the hill country. They know the history of the 1980s in the Guadalupe River. Why did you not listen to them? Why did you not listen to the rescue swimmers, some of the best rescue swimmers in the world that told you that there was going to be a problem in the hill country? They said there was going. They said it two days before the floods. And they got the. The mayor of Kerrville down there, and who's just. This guy is like a hobbit. He's. Oh, you don't ask too many. You're asking too many questions. Why are you asking so many questions? I don't. Like raise. You raise your hand because you have dead children on your watch, Mr. Mayor. And the same deal with this fire chief. And the same deal with all of them. No, you got to take accountability. And I'll give. I'll give Governor Abbott credit for that, because he went down there and he actually listened there and he took the slings and arrows, and he's taking the accountability as best that he can. But these people. These people, the people who should have known better, who shouldn't have been there in the first place, but were only there because of D. E. I denied. Denied. And you know, the Democrats, they're running around saying, oh, well, it's a bunch of white kids, so who cares? Bunch of white Christians. Yeah, yeah. We know whose side you're on. All right. We got it. We read you loud and clear. Be right back.

[Unknown Speaker]

Jack is a great guy. He's written a fantastic book. Everybody's talking about it. Go get it. And he's been my friend right from the beginning of this whole beautiful event, and we're going to turn it around.

[Fire Chief Joel Baker]

And make our country great again.

[Jack Posobic]

Amen.

[Unknown Speaker]

They said Gen Z would stay silent, that we'd back down, that we'd forget what's worth fighting for. But this generation remembers. We remember truth. We remember freedom. And now we rise. This is more than a conference. It's a call to action, to reclaim the future, to ignite a movement that cannot be ignored. Student Action Summit 2025 featuring the boldest voices in the fight. Charlie Kirk, Secretary Pete Hegsett, Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Brett Cooper, Secretary Kristi Noem, Riley Gaines, Brandon Tatum, Jack Posowica, Laura Ingram, Megan Kelly, Greg Gutfeld, Tom Homan, Congressman Byron Donalds, Russell Brand, Savannah Chrisley. Join thousands of students, future leaders and freedom fighters. This is the battleground of ideas. This is the Student Action Summit. Register [e-mail] all right, Jack, what's up.

[Jack Posobic]

Here we are back live Human events daily, Washington, D.C. switching gears here because we've got a special guest coming on now from the great state of Tennessee and no, no, it's not Glenn Jacobs. I know everybody really loves when we've got Glenn on, but actually it's Tennessee State Rep. Lee Reeves who's joining us because he's got a great op ed up and, and kind of an announcement in his in humanevents.com that we have up right now. Mr. Representative, thank you so much for joining us.

[Doug Mackey]

Well, thanks for having me on. I really appreciate being here. And by the way, Glenn Jacobs is great. He's a friend. And yeah, I do have an announcement.

[Jack Posobic]

Oh, that's, that's incredible. And one of our producers and Glenn go back to a previous life, shall we say? And, but let's, let's get over to humanevents.com what is your announcement? And I have to say thank you again for bringing it to Human Events.

[Doug Mackey]

Well, that's right. And so just as the headline says, President Trump is the GOP's quarterback and I am running for Congress in the special election for the 7th district here in Tennessee to block, to tackle, to run the ball and help him advance his agenda down the field.

[Jack Posobic]

Well, that's incredible. Congratulations. Tell us why is it a tremendous undertaking? It's a huge undertaking. It's, it's obviously open yourself up so much. Obviously you're, you're, you're in public, in the public's eye already. But you know, when you go to that higher level, you get more scrutiny, you get more slings and arrows coming at you. Believe me, I know quite a bit about how that goes and I'm not even in public office. But, you know, I certainly commend this. What made you make the decision now?

[Doug Mackey]

Well, and like I said, the agenda needs to be implemented and I believe I'm the right person to do that in this race. My entire district is in the congressional seventh. I've also gotten results and I've been effective for the state of Tennessee. In my first year in public office, I've advanced a number of bills. I have gotten Trump's agenda across the finish line here in Tennessee in terms of school choice, in terms of illegal immigration and other things. Also, I would just say that even though this is a red district, you know, there's always the possibility that Democrats could advance, and we sure don't want that. I think I'm the best position to hold this seat for Republicans.

[Jack Posobic]

Well, that's absolutely incredible when it comes to the president and when it comes to, you know, what you've done in the state, the state General assembly there, you know, one of the issues that I think we saw it in, the big beautiful bill, we've been talking about it here, here for years on this program. It's the issue of illegal aliens. What are some of the things that you have on your record regarding the fight against illegal aliens? Obviously, at the state level, it's different, but there's things that can be done and that you would like to see, you know, carried on at the federal level.

[Doug Mackey]

Well, I'll tell you what I've done so far. I've introduced several different bills, one of which got across the finish line this year. We have taken the states giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and made those illegal and not recognized here in Tennessee. And one of the Democrats argued against the bill on the floor and said, well, what do you expect them to do? And I said to drive around the state of Tennessee because we don't want them on our roads. The other thing is that I have been pushing very hard. I'm the only public official really pushing for ICE cooperation agreements in all of our sheriff's departments across Tennessee. It's called 287G. It allows them to serve warrants inside the jail instead of releasing criminal illegal aliens and having those warrants served in our neighborhoods. And I'm the only one pushing for that. And, and it's getting done, by the way. Sheriffs are coming on board. I think we need more of that at the federal level. I know we just got a bunch of that effort flow funded, which has been great in the one big beautiful bill, but we need to make sure it's implemented and that that President Trump's agenda on that is, is carried forward.

[Jack Posobic]

Well, and this is exactly right. You know, it's, it's illegal aliens. This is the top issue for, I believe, as our nation is. It is, is it, is it as much of an issue in, in Tennessee in your district as well?

[Doug Mackey]

It's really everywhere Jack and you know every state is a border state as they say and that's true in Tennessee as well. We've got almost a billion dollars of impact to our state from illegal aliens and that's via several studies that have been done and that's that's emergency room visits that everybody else pays for as.

[Jack Posobic]

All the things I hear this all the time and it never stops to just shock me when I hear this Congressman or Representative not yet I haven't heard that one yet Mr. Representative go follow him on Lee Reeves TN on X and go check out his announcement human events.com folks I'm a little upset today but there's a lot to be upset about but there's also a lot to fight for. What are we fighting for? The American people. It's all about putting the American people first and we will fight every single enemy of them wherever they are. Ladies and gentlemen, as always, you have my permission to lay short.