← Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Iran War Week Three. Trump: We Don’t Need Anybody.
00:38:22
Donald Trump is a runaway train, and we’re all along for the ride. In this urgent solo “Manosphere Monday” briefing, Paul Rieckhoff rips into Week Three of Trump’s war in Iran, the total blackout in Cuba, and a stunning failure of imagination from both parties and much of the media as casualties mount and forever war becomes the plan, not the exception. From the lonely circuit breaker role of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, to the growing cyber battlefield where the lights go out before the bombs drop, Paul breaks down how Trump is going “all gas, no brakes,” why allies still matter, and how the human cost of this war is already immeasurable for Gold Star and surviving families here at home. He calls out the politicians cashing in on conflict, the Congressmen openly attacking Muslim Americans, and the Pentagon and Wall Street players treating war like one more business opportunity.
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Paul Rykoff
Everything else is secondary or just noise or grandstanding. We are waiting, looking, praying for a leader or leaders to meet this moment and galvanize the majority of us that are opposing this war and much of what he's doing to save our country and maybe the world. But this is the time. The fate of America and the world hangs in the balance. Trump is indeed a runaway train and we are all along for the ride. Welcome to Independent Americans. Welcome to episode 466. It is Monday, March 16th, Manosphere Monday. And I'm your host, Paul Rykoff, coming to you from New York City, usa, where the weather is now foggy. Foggy and dark and rainy and gloomy. And this is March 2026 in America. But March Madness is here. March Madness is finally here in all its forms. And today's artist is Deep Purple. Great band because they did Smoke on the Water and it looks like Smoke on the water here in New York and in many places across America. They also did Soldier of Fortune. They are the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock. Absolutely brilliant. But it looks like Smoke on the Water around this country, nationwide and globally. And despite that, I'm going to take you deep, deeper than Deep Purple and bring you the five eyes. I bring you in every single show. Independence, integrity, information, inspiration and impact. I'm going to bring that today solo. No Guest quickfire on this important Monday as we enter a new week of war and help you stay vigilant. All right, top topic today should be pretty straightforward. Iran week three. You know, one media person last week asked me how long I thought the war in Iran would go on. I said it could be weeks, months, maybe years. The person who runs against Trump's follower in 2028 may be running on a platform to remove us from the war in Iran. It could go on that long. And he said he thought Trump would get tired of it in a week and stop. He said it would be over by the same time next week. He said he probably wouldn't see me a week later to talk about this. But I was back there and I've been back there. Many naively thought or believed or hoped the same that it'll be over in a week. Now, these are the same folks who said Trump would never hit Venezuela or never hit Iran again. And they're the same people who said he wouldn't try to hold on to power after January 6. And the same folks who now say with certainty that they think there will be free and fair elections in America this November and Trump won't mess with them. Well, today starts week three of Trump's war against Iran. And the overflow, it's unleashed. He's not stopping anything. He's all gas, no brakes, and he's increasing the momentum and still talking about Cuba. And the lights just went out in Cuba. More on that coming up. But there's a stunning and dangerous failure of imagination being suffered by many in the media and the Democratic Party especially, even after all he's done just in the first year. But there's no failure of imagination inside the White House. And there are plans for more war, much more war, forever war. Because that's the plan. It's always been the plan. And they are on plan. And the most important story is still now and until further notice that Donald Trump can do anything he wants with the most powerful military the world has ever seen. And nothing is stopping him. Nothing except maybe Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff General Kaine. We can see what he hasn't stopped, but only later will we learn what he has stopped, if anything. But General Kaine might be the lone circuit breaker protecting our democracy from even more and even worse. Because Trump is a runaway train and we're all along for the ride and he's got to be stopped. But hope is not a course of action, and outrage and sadness is not a plan. America needs more than just anger and pearl clutching senators who sound more like reporters than like strategic leaders. America and the world needs a plan to hear A plan to stop him. Everything else is secondary or just noise or grandstanding. We are waiting, looking, praying for a leader or leaders to meet this moment and galvanize the majority of us that are opposing this war and much of what he's doing to save our country and maybe the world. But this is the time the fate of America and the world hangs in the balance. Trump is indeed a runaway train and we are all along for the ride. This is a whole different kind of March Madness. But he must be stopped. There is no priority that is higher. So who's got a plan to stop him? We shall see. We are listening, we are waiting, and we are all staying vigilant. We've got to stay vigilant, especially because not only does he want to go further and faster than anybody before, he also wants to go it alone. He keeps saying that, and he said it again today. Check this out.
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Donald Trump
I've been sure he's going to. I think he's going to help. I mean, I'll let you know. I spoke to him yesterday. I don't do a hard sell on them because my attitude is we don't need anybody. We're the strongest nation in the world. We have the strongest military by far in the world. We don't need them. But it's interesting, I'm almost doing it in some cases, not because we need them, but because I want to find out how they react.
- [07:41]
Paul Rykoff
He says we don't need anybody. We're the strongest nation in the world. We're going to go it alone. Anybody who's ever been in a bar fight knows you can't get out alone. And we are very much in a geopolitical bar fight right now. And it's so wrong and stupid and bad for our national security and against what every American president has done before this in building alliances and uniting the world. Even George Bush tried to put together a coalition of the willing because there are a lot of folks out there that can help you, especially in a time of war. And I'll remind everyone, Today is day 1483 of Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine. And the folks in Ukraine could definitely help us, especially when it comes to dealing with the number one threat of drones and missiles that are raining down on people across the region and potentially could rain down on our homeland. But there are many among us who want to help. Many among us who want help from the outside because we see that he's all gas and no brakes. And because they've said Cuba is next, they've said it. Lindsey Graham keeps saying it. Trump keeps telegraphing his punches, and when he does, you should believe him. And there's breaking news. CNN is reporting now that Cuba's electrical grid has suffered a complete and total collapse. This is, according to the country's power operator, is the first nationwide blackout since the US Effectively shut off the flow of oil to Cuba. This should be expected. This should be anticipated. Also, an underreported part of the story, the military story, both in Iran and now potentially in Cuba, is the prowess, the innovation, the capacity of our cyber attack and cyber defense capabilities. America is one of the best in the world, probably the best in the world when it comes to cyber. Thankfully, the Senate finally approved a new head of Cyber command just last week. But I think in the days to come, we will find a lot more of information out about just how innovative, how effective and how potentially lethal our cyber attacks could be. There's a lot of ways America can strike potential targets, and cyber might be the first and might be the first from now on, before the bombs drop, before the missiles launch, the lights will go out. It's another reason we need to track on this story and of course, stay vigilant because meanwhile, the casualties continue to come home from the Middle East. More Americans have been identified over the weekend, including the six that were killed in the KC135 refueler crash in Iraq. And they are Major John A. Kleiner, 33, of Auburn, Alabama Captain Ariana G. Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington Tech Sergeant Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky Captain Seth R. Covel, 38, of Mooresville, Indiana Captain Curtis J. Angst of Wilmington, Ohio and Tech Sergeant Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio. These names were released over the course of the weekend, and they must get your attention. They must get your vigilance and take minutes, take moments, take take hours to learn about their stories, to understand the tremendous human cost of what's happening in Iran. One of those members of that team that was killed was Tech Sergeant Tyler Simmons, 28 years old. He was a true leader, a role model and an inspiration. This is how he was described at Eastmore Academy High School. Simmons was known for his leadership and his smile. He played football, ran track and inspired everyone around him. Ty Erskine, who coached Simmons when he was a runner at Eastmoor, remembered him as a positive presence who stood out both on and off the field. He was a bright young man, erskine said. He said Simmons brought enthusiasm wherever he went. He was always the energy in the room, the energy on the bus pretty much. They could say the same when it came to football. That's the energy he brought and the smile on his face. If you see the pictures of him and you hear his family, the cost of this war is already immeasurable, especially for those families. If you didn't hear my episode on Friday with Taps founder Bonnie Carroll, go back and check it out. She'll explain what these moments are really like for those families beyond the headlines, and she'll share how you can help. Taps will also be doing an important fundraiser in Washington, D.C. this week that you can support. But also lost this week was Major Alex Kleiner. He'd been named by his family as a second service member who died. He leaves behind a wife and three young children and these photos of him with his children have gone viral and are really, I think, moving people. But he was another role model and leader and the father of three little ones. And his family has got a GoFundMe page set up, which is important and I urge you to contribute. We'll link to it in the bio. It's also kind of stunning that families have to raise money to ensure that these kids and their future is taken care of. It's still unfortunately why nonprofits like Taps are so important. And here's from that GoFundMe. Alex was more than a serviceman. He was a devoted husband, a loving father, the kind of person who would step up to help anyone who needed it. He embodied what it meant to be a servant leader. His loss has left an immeasurable void in the lives of all who knew and loved him. Libby, his wife and Alex built a beautiful life together and were raising their three precious children, their energetic two and a half year old and their seven month old twins. Again, an immeasurable, incalculable loss. Check out TAPS linked in the bio because it's an area where no matter how you feel about this president, no matter how you feel about this war, no matter how you feel about this moment, you can do something. You can support those three kids and the other kids of the survivors of not just those killed in action, but those lost in accidents, those lost in training, and those lost in suicide and toxic exposure. Because the human cost of war lasts forever and goes into multiple generations. But it's one area where we can step up and help and stay vigilant day or night.
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- [14:25]
Paul Rykoff
What's going on?
- [14:25]
Carvana Advertiser
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- [15:24]
Paul Rykoff
All right. The casualties, I think, thankfully you're becoming a subject of conversation in this country. But Trump, Trump doesn't want to talk about it. Check this out. What do you want to see in the deal?
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Carvana Advertiser
Because earlier you said reportedly that you
- [15:44]
Donald Trump
start off with there will be no nuclear weapons. That's where it starts.
- [15:48]
Paul Rykoff
So he ignores the question they ask him, do you have a comment on the six service members who pass? He just ignores the question. Go ahead, just go. Says go ahead. Let me tell you, he better get used to answering this very tough question because it's not going to stop being asked by millions of Americans who want answers, who want to know why this is happening, what his rationale is, and why he thinks that this human cost of war is worth it. But he doesn't want to talk about it and he's instead focused on UFC and what else? Celebrating himself. Check this out.
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Donald Trump
Today we have at the front of the White House on June 14, you probably read UFC is going to be here. Dana White, the great Dana White, he's building a, literally a Stadium, a 5,000 seat arena right outside the front door of the White House. And they're going to have about 100,000 people on the, in the park right across the street where he's building, I believe, eight massive screens for people to watch. Free. All free.
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Paul Rykoff
So again, a 5,000 seat arena right outside the front door of the White House. Tens of thousands, maybe 80,000 people just outside in some of the, in some of the public areas. As I talked about last week on the show, 80,000 UFC members who are going to be all hyped up, who love Dana White. And if you don't love Trump, you're probably not going to go. Or you don't. At least you're not okay with Trump. You're probably not going to go. So you know tens of thousands of cranked up UFC fans who are also a soft target themselves. But beyond that, what could go wrong? What could go wrong on Manosphere Monday? A time when we want to contrast what's happening in a lot of the other toxic podcasts that bang on their chest and don't think about the repercussions and send a bad example of what manhood looks like. I want to ask some tough questions, not just on Manosphere Monday, but every day because Trump is a runaway train and we are all along for the ride. And there's other news out of Iran that you might have missed. 5 U.S. air Force refueling planes were struck and damaged on the ground in an Iranian strike at the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Did you know that an American base in Saudi Arabia was hit? And just like our friend Nolan Peterson warned, there are planes sitting on runways that are vulnerable to attack by drones and strikes. And Americans are dying. But we're not the only ones. President Macron of France told the story of Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud frion of the 7th Battalion Chaser Alpine de France, died in France during an attack on the Erbil region of Iraq. Several of the French soldiers have been wounded, and he said their presence in Iraq is part of the strict framework of the fight against terrorism. The war in Iran cannot justify such attacks. Important reminder of how we do need friends. We do need allies. And our friend Nolan Peterson, who joined us for our special episode on drones a couple weeks ago, that you should check out Special Forces, Air Force pilot, combat veteran and expert on these issues, he said. When I was a US Air Force Academy cadet, I completed a French commando training course at Mon Luis in the Pyrenees before spending a semester at the French Air Force Academy, the Ecole d'. Air. It was the summer of 23, sorry, 2003, around the time of freedom fries. The training kicked my ass, but it made me a better pilot and an officer in the years that followed. Above all, I learned that anyone with a tricolor on their shoulder was a friend and a comrade in arms of mine. Fair France. That's what he said. That's an important reminder from a combat veteran, of course, which Trump is not about how important our allies are. And we have to remember that the human cost of war now the lid is blown off on this thing in Iran will extend to many countries and many, many people. In Iraq is where the six troops died in the plane crash. The US Is now telling citizens to leave the embassy after a second attack on the embassy. Can I just say, duh, like if you're not gone already, Whiskey Tango frogstroke. You should get out of there if you can. Doesn't sound like the government's doing enough to help you, but you should definitely get the hell out of there if you're anywhere in the region and listening to my voice also related to the war. Phil Stewart over at Reuters continues to be a must read reporter. He said that Israel informed the US this week that it is running critically low on ballistic missile interceptors as the conflict with Iran continues. Semafor reported this on Saturday. Reuters could not immediately verify the report, but the US has become aware of how Israel's low capacity for missile defense is growing. The US Says they're not running low on interceptors of their own, but there is a limit to how many interceptors we have. And once those interceptors run out, makes us all in the region and beyond much more vulnerable to cheap attacks like drones. So watch this space. And of course, especially on all these issues, stay vigilant, all right? We know Trump isn't slowing down because he's a runaway train. He's also a racist. Runaway train. Trump is a racist. If you don't realize that, then you haven't paid attention in the last, I don't know, 10 years or so. But for all those who might have some reason to still be unsure, check this out.
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Donald Trump
A lot of them were let in here. They shouldn't have been let in. Others are just bad. They go bad. Something wrong? There's something wrong, dear. The genetics are not exactly. They're not exactly your genetic. It's one of those problems, Brian. It's a terrible thing. And it happens and it happens and it happens too often.
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Paul Rykoff
He said a lot of them were let in here. They shouldn't have been let in here. Their genetics are not exactly your genetics. It's one of their problems. Doesn't that sound familiar? Sounds like the stuff you'd hear from the Nazis, right? But his racists and bigotry are vile, un, American, unacceptable, dangerous, and also contagious. It seems they give others permission, his comments give others permission to say this kind of shit. So let's talk about politics for a second. And the worst kind of manosphere Monday incident to focus on, but one that we must focus on because let's talk about Representative Andy Ogles. He represents Tennessee's 5th congressional district. He calls himself a believer, a patriot, a conservative, a father, a friend. You know what? He's not a veteran. You know what he posted a couple days ago? He said, muslims don't belong in American society. Pluralism is a lie. A member of Congress wrote that about a group of people in America. We haven't used the asshole music in a while, but I think it's time to queue it up and hit it, Chris. Now, Mansoor Shams, who is a veteran, a proud Muslim American, posted a picture of himself in uniform with an arrow that said, that's me. And he said to the congressman, here's my uniform. Where is yours? Now go. Has gone further. He says he's a Tommy Tuberville conservative. And he posted a tweet from Tommy Tuberville who said, I don't give a rip about being politically correct. Innocent Americans are being gunned down in the streets almost daily by radical Islamists who religion teaches them it's righteous to kill Christians. So Tommy Tuberville, another bigot who thinks that Muslims are violent by nature. Ogles wants to associate himself with Tommy Tuberville and calls himself a Tommy Tuberville conservative. This is an American disgrace and he should be censored and removed from Congress. Hate speech like this from Ogles has no speech, no place anywhere, especially in elected office. And Speaker Johnson, you should deal with it or you're complicit. I don't expect you to, but I'm going to say it anyway because there's no defending this because he is definitely racist. He is. You know, Tuberville is a guy we've talked about before and I've called Senator Redneck. If he's Senator Redneck, looks like Ogles is Congressman Redneck, and both of them are embarrassments to your office, to Congress and to America. There are a lot of bigoted assholes following Trump's racist lead, but he's not just racist, he's also corrupt. And it's another reason why we need to stay vigilant. All right. There's a story in the New York Times you might have missed last week that a Pentagon was doing a presentation to recruit bankers to the Pentagon dangling lucrative access. They did a recruitment presentation from a headhunting firm saying that you would get access to government officials and royal families that could be used to, to raise capital in the future because the White House is open for business and everybody wants to see inside the Pentagon. So why not sell access to that, too? It's all corrupt and unacceptable. But it's not just the Republicans who do shitty, corrupt and unacceptable things. There's a report that Democratic Representative Kelly Morrison bought stock in an autonomous warship company as war in Iran raged. A Minnesota. A spokesman for the Minnesota lawmaker said an investment advisor made the trade, but one government watchdog called it a clear conflict of interest. You think? Yeah. Investing in defense contractors when you're in Congress and the president's going to war, it's like insider training on steroids and it's wrong. And whether Republican or Democrat, they must be held accountable always and especially now. Another reason to stay vigilant. All right, Especially stay vigilant around ICE because that still needs to stay front and center. And Scott McFarlane, our friend who was at CBS who left and is now independent and will be joining us on the show in the next couple of weeks, has been posting videos that you need to watch. And he posted a preview last night saying, I got a new story. And then he posted the story today, which he just filed, saying the Justice Department will receive a recommendation today to launch a probe into Kristi Noem. Well, play this from, from, from Scott.
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Scott McFarlane
At some point today, the top Democrats on the Senate and House Judiciary Committees are going to make a formal recommendation that the US Department of Justice launched an investigation into whether Kristi Noem violated the law during her two sets of testimony to those committees in the first week of March. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Jamie Raskett of Maryland are going to argue that in at least four different sets of questions and answers, Noem appeared to give false answers, including about that $220 million controversial taxpayer funded ad campaign that prominently featured Kristi Noem, according to the inquiry that they'll send to the Department of Justice today. The Democrats say that when Noem was asked by Louisiana Republican John Kennedy if the president was aware of plans for the advertisements, that Noem responded, yes. They'll cite a later report days after in which the president said, I never do anything about it.
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Paul Rykoff
Great. Because Noem must be held accountable. And the Iran war and pressing issues that are happening shouldn't distract Congress from still being able to walk and chew gum at the same time. This is their job. Have to be able to do multiple things and hold her and ICE accountable. Because remember, Renee Goode and Alex Preddy also still deserve justice. And we can't let those in power get away with it. Stay vigilant, folks, and know that there are still issues that are below the radar, one of them being Trump's war on the press, which continues below the radar, led of course, by culture warrior field general Pete Hegseth. More on that in a second. But Trump can't help but brag about his crimes and his attacks on our democracy. Over the weekend, he posted an image on Truth Social that said president Trump is reshaping the media. And he wrote, gone. PBS defunded, NPR defunded. Kerry Moran out at abc, Lester Holt out at NBC. Massive layoffs at Washington Post. There are others. Colbert leaving cbs. Chuck Todd out at NBC, John Dickerson out at cbs, Jim Acosta out at cnn. Big decline in mainstream media ratings. And then he calls them reforms. Record setting interviews on 60 Minutes. FCC broadcast accountability. That is censorship. He thinks he saved TikTok. Disney ends DEI, practices free speech on X, which increasingly becomes a wasteland. New ownership at cnn, he's calling that a victory. True social, he says, is booming. First POTUS to join NFL broadcast. Yeah, we talked about that and equal time on broadcast television. All of it is just underscoring his attacks on the media. He posted a picture of himself on the COVID of Time magazine and says that's a win. It says winning. He says he's waging a war against the media and winning. He's boasting about it. He's boasting about his authoritarian shit and says 3 million followers on TikTok. As I said on CNN on Saturday Night with Kate Baldwin, Hegseth's got a lot of wars going on, but the one he always keeps his eye on is the war in the media. And of course, for Trump, Hegseth is the lead attack dog who is working to ban from the war zone the liberal rag known as Stars and Stripes. Yep, I've talked about it before, but Stars and Stripes has now published a detailed report on the Department of Defense memo laying out its for Stars and Stripes, which is basically an attack on it. It's been two months since the Pentagon announced a shift away from supporting Stars and Stripes. But in the interim, Stripes hasn't heard directly from the people who are behind the shift, but they are in the crosshairs because the acting Secretary of Culture wars has many wars underway. But he continues to make that war on the press his first and top priority, with the venerable Stars and Stripes at the top of his list. Stand with the free press and democracy. Stand with Stars and Stripes and stay vigilant all right. Just an issue I want to focus on. It doesn't get enough attention around the world. The impact of our sucking chest wound. That is now this war in the Middle east is continuing to expand. And Politico reported that Taiwan is reporting large scale Chinese military aircraft presences near the island. Of course, not widely reported enough, but as should be expected because our enemies are celebrating and China is celebrating and China is watching and waiting and making moves, as should be expected. And the lights just went out on Cuba. It's going to be another wild week, folks. It is a time of a whole different kind of March Madness and we will all definitely need to stay vigilant. All right. Finally a couple things I gotta hit on here. Culture. Big story in culture, of course, is the Oscars. Last night, one battle after another had a huge night with best picture. Paul Thomas Anderson film won six awards, including best director. I think it was the best film of the year. Fantastic film. Michael B. Jordan was won best actor for Sinners in a really moving speech. The film also won four statues. Jesse Buckley got best actress for Hammett and Sean Penn got best supporting actor. And I think he really deserved the honor. If you haven't seen him, it's an incredible performance. I think he might have even been considered, should have been considered for best actor, but he wasn't there to accept it. Now, Sean Penn has long protested the Oscars and did not appear to accept his award in the first hour of primetime of the Oscars. And I would love to have Sean Penn on this show to talk about that and Ukraine and so much else. But I think he really missed an important opportunity, a tremendous opportunity to make a hugely impactful statement about Trump, about Ukraine and about the state of the world. But he missed it. Also last night of note, Armed Only with a Camera, the story of my friend Brent Renaud was nominated by for the best short documentary at the Oscars. They did not win, but I want to celebrate them on this heroic achievement and how many other ways. The film has already won a big shout out to Craig Renaud and Juan and the entire team because Brent's legacy and Craig's masterpiece of a film is forever. They didn't win the Oscar, but they've won for truth and courage and journalism and humanity. And Brent and Craig Renaud, both are true American heroes and their story is far from over. If you haven't seen it, please watch Armed Only with a Camera, the life and death of my brave, courageous friend, Brent Renaud, an incredible film created by his brother I'll link to it in the show notes. You can watch it on hbo. And stay tuned for what's next from Craig. He joined me on this show a couple weeks ago, but is definitely a person who's helping us all stay vigilant. And congratulations to Craig and the entire team. All right. Also, maybe the most important speech of the night was a political speech about Mr. Nobody, which was a film about standing up to Putin. And the guy accepting the award had some very, very powerful words that I want to play for you here.
- [33:14]
Oscar Speech Presenter
Mr. Nobody against Putin is about how you lose your country. And what we saw when working with this footage that you it's that you lose it through countless small little acts of complicity. When we act complicit, when a government murders people on the streets of our major cities, when we don't say anything, when oligarchs take over the media and control how we could produce it and consume it, We all face a moral choice. But luckily, even a nobody is more powerful than you think.
- [33:56]
Paul Rykoff
He said. It's about how to lose your country. Like little acts of complicity. This is what's happening now in America, not just what has happened in Russia, but what can happen here. It was a warning. The Oscars didn't have a ton of breakout moments focused on politics. I wish they had more. I wish President Zelensky was there. I wish Sean Penn was there. But there were these little moments of resistance, of perspective, of importance that need to be recognized because it's another way we can all, especially now, push back and stay vigilant. All right, finally, let's talk sports. All right. If you didn't see it over the weekend, Italy went undefeated in the World Baseball Classic and had a historic win over Puerto Rico. The World Baseball Classic has been awesome. It shows how the world can actually get along. I'm glad that Trump and his crew have stayed away from it. But Italy won a huge win over Puerto Rico 8 to 6. And Japan got stunned by Venezuela. Shohei Ohtani had the last out and popped out. And Venezuela beat Japan, knocking out a team that's usually a finalist Monday night. Now, Italy will play Venezuela tonight, Monday night. And big one, the big one, the USA hung on and beat the Dominican Republic in a fantastic game. I mean, just a brilliant game. And at the end, controversial, called third strike. But I think it was an incredible pitch. What a win. What a game. So fun to watch. Aaron Judge had an incredible throw from right field. But check this out. If the, if Venezuela wins tonight and the US Plays Venezuela in the championship. That's going to be pretty wild on a geopolitical level. Paul Skins, great job to him who, if you don't know, he was at the Air Force Academy before he left to go to LSU and played in the pros, now played in the pros. He's had a great focus on our military service and keeping perspective. And I'm going to ask Paul Skeens, Aaron Judge, another big favor. Please do your country one more big solid, keep Cash Patel the hell away from this team and go usa. All right. Also, March Madness is here. The brackets are up. I will cover it more in the days to come. I will fill out a bracket and invite you to challenge me. But March Madness is incredible because it unites America. It gives us all something to experience and cheer for and it is really just a lot of fun. But before we wrap up, let me end with something sports related that is truly in this tumultuous time and a very difficult Monday. Something good.
- [36:26]
Donald Trump
Something good.
- [36:31]
Paul Rykoff
USA sled hockey team won its fifth straight gold medal and completes the first ever hat trick by a nation. An unforgettable run. The Paralympic teams have all been amazing. But on this manosphere Monday where I want to contrast all the shitty examples of leadership coming out of America, this is a great example of truly amazing, inspiring, unifying folks who represented our country with tremendous pride. Go check out the footage from an amazing and inspiring win by our Paralympic team. They represent America in all the right ways and they are definitely something good. All right, folks, it is a wild Monday. March Madness is here. I'm going to try to help you all stay vigilant throughout this week and in the weeks to come. If you didn't see it on Saturday night, I was on CNN with my old friend Kate Baldwin. We hadn't talked in a long time, but we did a lot of segments around Iraq and Afghanistan. So my thanks to her for having me over there. Late Tonight, Midas on YouTube will be posting an interview with fellow veteran, my old friend Ken Harbaugh. We talk about all the latest that's happening. There was a lot of basketball happening not just on television, but also in my house. Both boys played a lot of basketball. Fantastic wins and that's going to help me through this time and I hope basketball will help you through it too. And this show coming up, we're going to have Miles Taylor probably later this week. Ken Casey of Dropkick Murphy's. I hope Admiral Stravides change of schedule. With all the war going on, he will join us again soon and lots of other guests, if you haven't heard. We are daily now. We continue to stay in the charts on Apple Podcasts in the news category. Thanks to all of your support. So wherever you're listening, yeah, my voice is still not where it needs to be, but you're helping me amplify it. Subscribe right now if you're listening on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify and especially on YouTube. We've had like 1000% growth on our short clips on YouTube. You can go to IndependentAmericans usually get some merch and join our Patreon community. Chip in a couple bucks. And if you want to run for office against Lindsey Graham, John Fetterman or anybody else out there and you're an independent veteran, check us out@independentveteransofamerica.org America has been divided, but there is unity now. I've talked about this around the war in Iran and around their frustration with Trump and the frustration with ice. And this is a moment we are working to bring people together and to add light to contrast the heat of all the other political shows, especially in times of war. So if you're now among the 45% of Americans who are independent, come on over. This is your show. And if you're independent, curious if you're a Democrat or Republican, you're also welcome here. Everybody's welcome here. Our independent movement is the hope for the future. Again, big thanks to Stephen Colbert, who last week gave us a huge bump. And welcome to all the new folks who are here because you saw me on Stephen Colbert. Over 3 million now, I think on Instagram have watched us. We're ahead of Shaq and Jimmy Kimmel and Kendrick lamar. I think 2 million on TikTok. But our message is getting out there. Country over party people over politics, light over heat, busting up the status quo and fueling a new movement that spans all across this country. And our movement is growing and bringing hope. That is the oxygen of democracy. If you enjoyed this episode, share it far and wide, real far, real wide, along with your March Madness bracket. And invite others to declare their independence. And stay vigilant, my friends, especially as the March Madness continues, because eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. And no, you're not alone in your vigilance. We're all vigilant. We're all in this together. I'm your host, Paul Rykoff. Thank you for tuning in to independent Americans on this Manosphere Monday. I will see you tomorrow for another Tuesday episode. Check us out on every social media platform. I will continue to bring as much as I can to add light to contrast to heat and in this very, very crazy time of March Madness, help you stay vigilant. See you next time.
- [40:23]
Poet or Musician
Tells me the left and right are dreams for those without a clue and when you wait, it's time to grow and it's not cool to believe in school but if I can say one thing I've seen the children of the revolution and the good trouble they can bring. He says the red and blue are dead and independent is a an attitude, an island in the sea of rhetoric and not a problem Left and right our dreams for those without a clue and when you wait, it's time to grow.
- [40:54]
Paul Rykoff
Power by Righteous Media.