← Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
War with Iran Looms. Colbert vs Trump & the FCC.
00:25:13
Paul Rieckhoff goes solo on Episode 445 to sound the alarm: Trump may strike Iran within days, with no vote from Congress and no accountability to the American people. He also breaks down Kristi Noem's dangerous leadership at DHS, Pete Hegseth's Pentagon culture war, heartbreaking ICE stories, and why 60% of Danes now see the U.S. as an adversary. Country over party, people over politics — stay vigilant.
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Paul Rykoff
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Paul Rykoff
Extra Trump strikes things and Congress tries to pass legislation afterward. He blows past Congress. He blows past norms and makes the case to the American people. Sometimes after he does it, it's dangerous, it's unconstitutional. It should not be our new normal. Not just because of the damage it can do to Iran, but because America's sons and daughters will again be in harm's. Welcome to Independent Americans. Welcome to episode 445. I am your host, Paul Rykoff, coming to you again from beautiful Tampa Bay, Florida USA where I am for winter break and for spring training and of course to continue to bring you this show. And the weather is sunny and a bit overcast and 80 and I will take it because it is cold and rainy back home and it has been cold and rainy in America. And it is Thursday, February 19th. Today's musical artist that I bring you every day that I introduce to my boys is outkast, the legendary hip hop crew Outkast. Because there might be bombs over Tehran and they didn't do bombs over Tehran, they did bombs over Baghdad. But I felt like it would be appropriate. We've got to say, hey ya Ms. Jackson, the way you move, so fresh and so clean. Rosa Parks, so many others. It's uplifting, it is historical, it is innovative and it is the band of the day. So we might need it today. Bring a little bit of that energy from Outkast to take you through another wild week in America. And this show will bring you the five eyes as always, independence, integrity, information, inspiration and impact. No guest today, just me to rip through a couple of things that are happening that you need to keep front and center to help you even in this February day. Stay vigilant.
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Commercial Voice
Foreign.
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Paul Rykoff
A couple top stories to rip through former Prince Andrew has been arrested in Britain over the Epstein ties. Bottom line here, the Epstein drama does not end. It is continuing to extend. Now Prince Andrew has been arrested. King Charles III says he supports a full fail and proper process. He probably also hopes that his name doesn't appear there, but names continue to come out. Damage continues to continue. And of course damage on the survivors continues as well, as there is still not enough accountability around Epstein in America and in Washington and in particular, excuse me. In contrast, there has been accountability in South Korea where the ex leader, President Yoon Suk Yul has been sentenced to life in prison. You might remember he was impeached after he briefly imposed martial law in 2024. He had faced a potential death sentence in the country's biggest criminal trial in decades. It's kind of like an alternate universe in what could have happened to Trump. But there is tremendous accountability in South Korea. Maybe one day we'll have accountability here, but not yet. All right. And then of course, I want to talk about what I think is our top topic, the number one topic that should be the top topic despite all the other stuff that is pending war with Iran. On this show. We have talked for months and years about how the number one story in the world is that Donald Trump can do anything he wants with the most powerful military the world has ever seen and nothing is stopping him. He struck a number of countries from Yemen to Venezuela with no congressional oversight, with no congressional roadblocks, and now with no congressional slowdown, it looks like he may hit Iran. He said today, in the next 10 days. So it could happen before I even drop this show. It could happen a couple weeks from now. It's just like Venezuela around Christmas time. The table is set, the pieces are in place. And now it's on Trump and maybe on our military advisors to give him an ideal window of weather, of cloud cover, of moonlight. And all those factors go into the strategic planning of a military operation. But it seems like right now the US Military is cleared hot to hit Iran. Now, most in Congress are rolling over. They're abdicating their responsibility, but at least some are stepping up. Representative Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, and Representative Tom Massie, Republican from Kentucky, have co sponsored a bill that would require Trump to have a vote. Sorry. That would require Congress to force a vote on Trump's use of force on Iran, saying he can't do it without congressional approval. You may remember a similar effort failed last June, nearly a week after the president unilaterally ordered strikes against Iran. This is Normally what happens, Trump strikes things and Congress tries to pass legislation. Afterward, he blows past Congress, he blows past norms and makes the case to the American people. Sometimes after he does it, it's dangerous, it's unconstitutional. It should not be our new normal, not just because of the damage it can do to Iran, but because America's sons and daughters were will again be in harm's way. And you have a right to have your representatives vote on whether or not that's okay. How do you feel about it? Sound off in the comments section here. If you're watching on YouTube, be sure to send me notes on social media and keep it front and center. Because when it comes to issues of national security, from Greenland to Venezuela to Mexico to Iran, we all most definitely need to stay vigilant. All right. Requiring your vigilance and an issue that remains below the radar. But something we continue to focus on is that I don't think Trump and his administration have any intent on having a free and fair election this fall. And Kristi Noem leaked a little bit last week. Maybe she said out loud what she was thinking when she said, quote, when it gets to election day, we've been proactive to make sure we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country. That is exactly what you should not hear from a person who's heading Department of Homeland Security. I think this is just the latest reason she needs to go. And anyone who hasn't called for it in Congress already is a complete coward. Also below the radar, there was some reporting that there was some tension between Nome and the coast guard after 23 year old coast Guardsmen went overboard in the Pacific Ocean on the cutter washesh on February 4th of last year. Shortly after the Senate confirmed Noem in a role, according to U.S. officials. NBC News had this report. The Coast Guard had been surging ships and aircraft to find the Guardsmen. Hours into the search, Noem Learned that a C130 that was supposed to fly detained migrants over from California to Texas was among the aircraft over the Pacific looking for the missing Guardsman. She intervened and she told the acting commandant, Coast Guard Admiral Kevin Ludley, to pull the plane off the search and rescue mission so wouldn't miss an immigrant flight as part of DHS's so called alien expulsion operations. This is according to US officials. Now how many more reasons do we need to show that Kristi Noem should be removed? If you're a member of Congress, it hasn't called for our removal, especially after these two latest episodes Then you should just step down yourself. And in the meantime, all of us need to stay vigilant. All right? Stay vigilant. Of course, around the Pentagon, where I haven't covered this in a couple of days, but Hegseth's war, culture war continues. I've called him the acting Secretary of Culture War. That is what he is. And now he has aimed his ire on a number of colleges that he feels army troops should no longer be allowed to enroll in. It's a high number of very prestigious colleges, a long list including Boston College, Boston University, Duke, Fordham, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, basically mit, Tufts, some of the top universities in the country. And Hegseth doesn't want the military working with him because his culture war on America continues. Now, keep in mind, he went to Princeton, which I didn't see on this list, but might be, but is included in this list of schools like Yale and Harvard and others. He's just making our military dumber and more radical by the day. And here's a bigger question. Is he removing ROTC from these colleges next? And will the Department of Veterans affairs follow the DOD's lead and deny veterans the ability to access their post 911 GI Bill benefits at the same schools? Everything they want to do is radical, political, extreme. And everything they want to do starts with doing it at and with the Pentagon, where there continues to be drama and you should keep your eyes focused. He also has now forced out a senior military advisor to Dan Driscoll. He kicked out the Pentagon Pentagon chief spokesperson over the weekend, Colonel David Butler. It's gotten a lot of pushback and most importantly, more Hegseth drama. It never ends. It's his brand and it's his legacy. He's like secretary drama. And of course, he's the acting Secretary of Culture War as well. Also of note, related to the Pentagon, that didn't get a lot of attention. I want to talk about the fact that lance Corporal Chuamaka Ofora, 21 of Florida was declared dead on Tuesday following a 1772 hour search and rescue operation. You know, combat operations always have a human cost. And that cost is rarely appreciated by the public, especially when the President doesn't want you to think about a human cost. But there's always a cost. And I want to remind folks about the loss of Lance Corporal Oforra because he has been lost and others could be lost if we attack Iran in the next couple of days. And if you want to support the family of Lance Corporal Oforra and other families of the fallen, please check out tragedyassistance program for survivors.org taps.org, i'll link to it in the show notes as well. But this is the first casualty of America's war on drug boats or whatever the hell they're doing. Off the coast of Minneapolis. I saw Minneapolis, check that. Off the coast of Venezuela. There's a different war happening in Minneapolis. Which takes us to ice. I have been talking repeatedly about the dastardly and unacceptable things that ICE has been doing. I'll give you the latest example. There is a nine year old client who has been locked up in San Antonio for eight months. And the children have been so impacted by this. This poor child says she wishes she was no longer alive. She says she wishes that she could get out. She says it's like a bad dream about running away from a wild animal, but she's stuck in a cage and can't get out. Her sister was separated from family as punishment for talking to the press. They're facing deportation to Egypt, but everyone in the family of five is seeking asylum. It's a nine year old girl, five year old twins, a 16 year old brother and an 18 year old sister and their mother. It's just unacceptable and we can never normalize how brutal and just mean and despicable they have been. Another related story. We found out that Ophelia Torres, the heroic teenage child of Chicago public schools who was fighting against cancer while her father was detained, has died. She was a brave young woman, 16 years old, and she was fighting cancer while her father was being detained by ICE. Her brave and tragic story is the story of ICE's corrupt and broken culture of cruelty. When they tell you that ICE can be salvaged, remember them. Remind them of 16 year old Ophelia. America will never forget these stories and we should never forgive. It's why we need to defund and disband ICE immediately and of course, stay vigilant. Now, one other thing. Keep in mind, the DHS is now reportedly trying to identify Americans who oppose ICE raids by sending tech companies legal requests for their names, email addresses, telephone numbers and identifying data behind the social media accounts that track or criticize the agency. So if you attack or criticize dhs, your data could be headed over to Kristi Noem. Another reason why DHS needs to be held accountable and defunded and disbanded. And we all need to stay vigilant. But know that people are pushing back and breaking through. I want to play you a video that's been getting around of a man who's pushing back and I think Representing the voice of so many people. Check this out.
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Protester
So I've never protested before in my entire life, but.
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Commercial Voice
Sorry.
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Protester
I watched 4th and 5th grade kids run away from our own government. I never want to see that again. And I'm not gonna stand by and watch my neighbors run away scared. That's not Camden County. It's not New Jersey. It's not the United States. I love the United States. I love New Jersey and I love Camden County. I love Lennon Wall, too. But that's not. That's not what, you know, we are. It's not who we are. And I just. I can sort of come out here and stand with you guys and be part of this because I never want to see a child ever run away from our own government ever again. Sorry about getting emotional.
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Paul Rykoff
That is the true voice and spirit of the American people and it's growing. And as we've said especially I am focused and independent. Veterans of America are focusing on connecting with veterans. Veterans are 1/3 of ICE agents. They're being heavily recruited by ICE and we want to encourage them. Don't join ICE, join us. Join independentveteransofamerica.org you can find us everywhere and link in the show notes. Because many patriotic Americans are pushing back, including my friend and one of the finest people I know, Stephen Colbert. There's been a lot of reporting about how Stephen Colbert has been pushing back against CBS when they decided to drop his interview with James Talarico that was supposed to be broadcast on Monday because of fear of new FCC guidelines. Let me tell you this, what you need to know. Stephen Colbert is a patriot. Stephen Colbert is an honorable dude. I have known Stephen Colbert for 20 years. He's been a guest on this show. He's volunteered at veterans events. I've met his family. He is an honorable, caring, thoughtful person. And damn, is he brave. He continues to step forward and show what heroism looks like. Yeah, he's rich. Yeah, he's famous. But he's also getting death threats. He's also being intimidated. He's also facing fury that we should never forget. The courage of anyone it takes, whether it's a person on the street in Minneapolis or someone with a platform like Stephen Colbert. This is a time for people to step forward and raise their voices on issues small and big, but issues that are impacting all of us. So my hat's off to you, Steven. I hope you'll join us again on the show. Thank you for all you do and all you continue to do and know. At least me and the show we stand with you and we will stay vigilant.
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Paul Rykoff
All right. Of course, as the drum beats continue with Iran, we've also got to stay focused on Venezuela. And if you haven't been tracking over the last couple of days leading up to Valentine's Day, there have been more strikes. There was another boat strike on February 13. The Department of Defense posted video of that. And then on Friday last week, Dan Lamoth was quick to notice. And of course, there was another week of no press briefings. There hasn't been one on camera since December 2, more than two months ago. And that was with the Pentagon propaganda press corps. The press corps has been mostly vacant since October. And now we're potentially starting more war with Iran. And then on September 16, there were more strikes. According to Southcom, they said 11 male narco terrorists were killed, four on one vessel, four on a second vessel, and three on a third vessel. They're posting video of bodies burning. That's what they're doing. Still no accountability. Still no approval from Congress. Still most Americans don't support it. And there's still all gas and no brakes. I will remind you we still don't have the full video of the attack on September 2nd. We still haven't had accountability over so called war crimes. We still haven't had approval from Congress and they are still all gas and no brakes. And it should not sit well with you no matter who you are or where you are. All right. Speaking of folks that continue to be outraged Denmark, I want to keep coming back to how the scars that we have, we have put on the people of Denmark and our relationships may never heal. There's new information that Stars and Stripes reported that the majority of Danes now view the US as an adversary instead of an ally. More than half of the Danish people think we are an adversary. This is one of our most trusted allies, a group of people who fought with us in Iraq and Afghanistan and over every battle basically since World War II and beyond. The Danes are our allies, the Danes are our friends. And Trump has so disrespected them, so insulted them that now 60% of Danes consider the US an adversary, while only 17% still view us as an ally. That 20% are undecided and 3% declined to answer. But absolutely unacceptable. And every one of us needs to speak out and remind the world and especially our friends in Denmark, that Donald Trump does not speak for most Americans, especially now. All right. Of course, Ukraine continues to suffer under the brutal, unauthorized criminal invasion by Russia. Zelensky has been out in the press talking to Piers Morgan and others, continuing to just be an amazing advocate, relentless pugilist on behalf of his country. And the Ukrainian people continue to use the Olympics as a way to showcase their bravery. And despite the fact that a number of Ukrainian athletes have been pushed out of the Olympics because of their statements, I think that the statements will last forever. People will remember these Olympics for a number of things and one of them will be the bravery of the Ukrainian people. And also, Jim Scotto over at CNN had a note that I want to share. He said in a single month, Russia has lost twice as many soldiers killed in action as in its an entire 10 year war in Afghanistan which helped bring down the USSR. The losses are staggering. There is new information that Russia has sustained about 9,000 more battlefield losses than it was able to replace in in January alone. So the carnage continues. Meanwhile, of course, civilians continue to be pummeled all across Ukraine and we all need to stand with Ukraine in whatever way. You can check out American Veterans for Ukraine for more and we will have more conversations with people from inside Ukraine and impacted by Ukraine and supporting Ukraine in the days to come. But especially now in the final days of the Olympics, in the latter days of winter, all Americans should stand with Ukraine. All right. Occasionally I want to talk about vets issues and there was a story in the news that didn't get a lot of attention that I want to bring some attention to. Pat Tillman's brother has pled guilty to setting a post office on fire. Richard Tillman is the brother of NFL star turned Army Ranger Pat Tillman, who died in a case of friendly fire back in Afghanistan. Apparently he drove a vehicle into a California post office while it was closed. We don't know a lot of information about this, but I do want to say this one day. I hope we hear from all of the Tillman family and from Richard about how his brother's death has impacted him, how their families, collective service has impacted all of them. Because there is so much pain and so much drama and so much manipulation around the Pat Tillman story, one that will always inspire me and I hope all Americans. But my heart goes out to Richard Tillman. I don't know the circumstances of his situation, but we all need to look out for each other, and we all need to look out for those that we've left behind, whether it's brothers, sisters, and especially our kids. Again, check out TAPS for more information. If you want to help the survivors of folks who've been killed in action. Because the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may be over, but the outcome and the damage will continue for many years to come. All right, speaking of damage, we can always count on Senator Redneck himself, Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, to do damaging and stupid things. And just a couple of days ago on President's Day, he tweeted that as we reflect on our nation's greatest presidents, it's hard not to think of a president who's been more influential in modern history than Donald Trump. Petitioned to rename today as President Donald J. Trump Day. So coach Tommy Tuberville wants to put Trump on Mount Rushmore. He posted a picture of Mount Rushmore with Trump next to it, and he wants to change President's Day. It just be Trump Day because you can always count on Senator Redneck to do the hackiest, dumbest, and most loyal bootlickery thing in all of Congress. You know, I actually would love to have Senator Redneck come on this show. Open invitation, Senator, anytime. We can talk some football, but we could definitely talk about the crazy shit that you do every day to make our country weaker, to overly politicize things, and to just make Congress a bit dumber. I. I don't have enough words, but we will stay tuned to the latest that comes out of his mouth and we'll all stay vigilant. All right, finally, folks, I want to end with something good.
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Commercial Voice
Something good.
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Paul Rykoff
All right, folks. Finally, I want to end with something good. My something good today is spring training. Spring training. Spring training happens across Florida. It happens across Arizona. And here's why I want to shout it out. If you can drive to SP training and go even just for a day, it's extremely affordable. You can go watch the Yankees practice for absolutely free like we did this morning. You can get autographs from the players. Yes, my boys did get balls signed by the great Aaron Judge. It's a great sense of community. And it's like, I think how baseball should be. You know, going to a Yankee game can cost hundreds of dollars, if not more by the time you get concessions. But even at the most expensive team in the country. You can go to spring training for free and have a really great community experience. And baseball's almost here, folks. Spring training is underway and the season will be here, which means spring is here. But spring training is always something good.
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Commercial Voice
Something good.
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Paul Rykoff
All right, folks, that's the show for today. Tomorrow we're going to finish the week with another independent candidate, an independent candidate for Congress who is also a firefighter. He's going to bring some heat to warm you up in these final days of February. Next week, we will have Mayor Mike Duggan of Detroit, who is running as independent candidate for the governor of Michigan. We will also have Trump's State of the Union, which will be something we want to watch. And if something happens in Iran, I will be back. Be sure to check out recent episodes with Jesse Ventura, Rachel Maddow, Anya Kamenetz, and many others. Check out our YouTube page. Hit subscribe on YouTube. Leave a comment. You can also pay to join our exclusive communities on YouTube. Check that out and you can support the fire that we bring. And you can support this movement and you can get some extra content. Follow us on all social media and be sure to let folks know that even though America is divided, we here at Independent Americans are working to change that. Bringing light to contrast to heat. We're like spring training for your democracy. And if you're among the now 45% of Americans who are independent, this is your show. Our show is. And our movement is Hope for the Future. Country over party, people over politics, light over heat. Challenging that status quo and fueling a new movement that spans all across our country. And that movement is growing and bringing hope. That is the oxygen of democracy. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it far and wide. Invite others to declare their independence from the parties, from corporate media, from all the bullshit. And stay vigilant, my friends, because eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. No, you're not alone in your vigilance. We're all vigilant. We're all in this together. I'm your host, Paul Rykoff. Still trying to heal my voice, but I'm cheering for the Yanks now, so, you know, got to deal with that. But thank you for tuning into Independent Americans. We will be back with a new episode tomorrow. I will see you tomorrow. Happy Thursday. Enjoy spring training from far or from close and stay vigilant, America.
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Commercial Voice
Stay vigilant tells me the left and right are dreams for those without a clue and when you wake 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 identity Dependent is an attitude an island in the sea of rhetoric and I can grow, he tells me the left and right Our dreams for those without a clue and when you
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Paul Rykoff
wait it's time to grow Powered by righteous media.