← Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Worst Truce Ever. U.S. Fires on Tankers. Trump Tries to Silence Sen Kelly.
00:35:57
The truce isn't a truce. The U.S. Navy is firing on Iranian-flagged oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, gas is climbing toward five bucks a gallon in Ohio, and Trump is on record saying he's fine with $200-a-barrel oil — as long as the war grinds on. Meanwhile, the administration is hauling Senator Mark Kelly back into court to silence a decorated Navy combat veteran and astronaut, sending a clear message to two million military retirees and every troop in uniform: shut up and fall in line. Paul Rieckhoff delivers a solo Friday briefing on what the MAGA machine is actually doing while you're trying to plan Mother's Day brunch.
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Paul Rykoff
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Paul Rykoff
For 45 years, Dish has been connecting America with the best in family, tv, entertainment and advanced technology at an unbeatable value. And that commitment continues with our new 45th anniversary special offer. Get the lowest price in satellite TV starting as low as $89.99 a month. In a world of rising costs and hidden fees, Dish stays transparent, reliable and honest, just like our founders intended. Learn more by calling 888-@add dish or visit dish.com terms and conditions apply. Over 2 million military retirees all across America. And if they can do it to Mark Kelly, who is a decorated Navy veteran, an astronaut and a member of the Armed Services Committee, then they can do it to anyone. They can do it to you. It can't be tolerated. Foreign welcome to independent Americans. Welcome to episode 51 6. And it is Friday. I am your host, Paul Rykoff. I have to say it twice because I'm so happy it's Friday. It's Friday, May 8, and it is the start of Mother's Day weekend. So an early happy Mother's Day to all of your mothers, to all of you mothers and to all of you mothers. I am coming to you from New York City, usa And the weather here is again cold all of a sudden after being sunny this morning. Mother. Well, my mom would tell me to breathe. She would tell me to take a deep breath, she would tell me to stay calm. And that's what I'm going to try to do. And today's artist is a person that is perfect for Mother's Day. It is a two time Grammy nominee, the great Tracy Bonham. You may remember Tracy Bonham as an alternative rock legend. Born in Eugene, Oregon, she's a classically trained violinist and pianist guitarist and she is most known for her 1996 hit, Mother Mother, her signature hit, Intense Lyrics, a violin driven alternative sound. It was really way ahead of its time. And other songs like Sharks Can't Sleep, the One and Navy Bean, you may not know. She also has done a series of children's work that's really important, including Me Symphony, the first signal from her Young Maestros album that she released, I think during COVID 2021. I am honored that I got to meet Tracy Bonham. In a weird, amazing twist of fate, she actually became the music teacher for my kids during COVID in upstate New York. It was an honor. It was an inspiration. She continues to be a true trailblazer and do great work. And she's got a special coming up over Mother's Day weekend called Scream Like a Mother. It is a mother and daughters kickoff event. You can go to her website, tracybottom.com for more. But the great and powerful Tracy Bonham is somebody I actually hope will come on this show at some point. But she is our artist of the day and perfect for this Mother's Day weekend. And we're going to get through it like a mother. We're going to go through the five eyes that I bring you in every single show. As always, independence, integrity, information, inspiration and impact. No guests today, just me. For all your mamas and for all you mothers, we're going to stay vigilant, All right? I'm a little banged up today. I won't lie to you. I was on CNN till about midnight last night, which was after a very, very long day and very long week. I played basketball with the old dads this morning. I hung in there, but I feel a little beat up from that. And we were up late last night celebrating and raising money to support the Great non profit work of Steady Buckets here in New York. So I want to start the show with a big shout out to everybody in the Steady Buckets community. If you don't know, Steady Buckets is a youth program that serves thousands of kids all across New York City. It's really a model, I think, for many programs across the city and across the world. They've got programs for kids of all ages and everything is free. It's totally free. They've got specialized programs for girls. They've got a specialized program that is the first of its kind in New York City, in the country and maybe in the world for kids on the autism spectrum. They have an ASD program, basketball program for kids. It's incredible. Big shout out to Coach Mackey, Coach Sean, Coach Dylan, Coach Shake, Coach Dasha and everybody there. We raised a lot of money last night. Thank you to all of you who came out to support Steady Buckets and especially all the moms that were there. We got to hear from the father and the mother of the great Cormac Ryan, who is a, a free agent rookie sensation on the Milwaukee Bucks. You may remember him from North Carolina or when he played at Notre Dame. But he started out in Steady Buckets. And last night we heard from his mother and his father about how he was raised and how he got to the success he's gotten. And it was a lot of it, just mostly hard work and humility that comes from his mother. And that's going to take us through the rest of the show. The spirit of our mothers, the spirit of what our mothers taught us. And that will take us to what my mom would probably agree should be our top topic. Tell your mama, tell your father, tell everybody. Freedom of speech is under attack. I think you know it, you've probably heard it. But yesterday was another prime example as Senator Mark Kelly was standing before the world talking about his continued legal fight against his the attacks on his free speech by acting Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and President Mayhem himself. Trump Senator Mark Kelly has been on this show before and he had this to say yesterday after coming out of a courtroom again to defend himself, defend military retirees, and defend free speech for all Americans. Play the clip, please, Chris. And it's the same law that every veteran is trained to follow. And in response, the president said I should be prosecuted and hanged. Then he tried to throw me in jail. And then Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, tried to censure me, demote me and take away my pension, all for something I said That I had the right to say as a senator, as a veteran, but most importantly as an American. Look, I've said it before, I'm going to say it again. These outrageous attacks on Senator Mark Kelly are a direct attack on free space speech for all Americans and especially the rights of 4 million military, sorry, 2 million military retirees. That's how many. There are over 2 million military retirees all across America. And if they can do it to Mark Kelly, who is a decorated Navy veteran, an astronaut and a member of the Armed Services Committee, and they can do it to anyone, they can do it to you. It can't be tolerated. I had more last night on CNN with Laura Coates late. But I think it's a really important story that we have to continue to follow because it's much bigger than just one senator. It's much bigger than just one video. It's about a continued attack on the free speech of Americans. They want to shut people up, not just Senator Kelly, but they want to show you that if they can shut him up, they can shut up anyone. They're trying to chill speech all across the country and especially among the veterans community. It can be so strong and important, especially when, I don't know, they wage unpopular war. And they also want to send a message across the military, shut up. Follow their rules. Follow the rules and don't speak out. Because they know that this war in Iran is increasingly unpopular. And that's not just among Democrats or the elite liberals. It's among the MAGA base. It's people like Megyn Kelly and it's also our troops. They understand what's going on. They see this as an attack on free speech. And they will lead all of us to remind you what your mom said about the Golden Rule. Do unto others as they'd have do unto you. And of course, that includes staying vigilant. I mean, my mom is constantly pissed off about the news. I think most people's moms are, you know, a lot of moms have generally been biting their tongue or biting their tongue no longer. And that especially is true when we talk about Iran. Now. Is this the worst truce in the history of the world? I mean, is this the worst ceasefire in the history of the world? I don't know. But Trump's called it a ceasefire. Trump's called it a truce. And is it a truce that both sides are still shooting at each other because the US And Iran continue to exchange fire amid a so called declared truce? And there's the latest on Friday. Today, the US has said that it fired on two Iranian flagged oil tankers as Iran's foreign minister accused Washington of Iran reckless military adventure and undermining diplomatic efforts to end the war. This is from the New York Times. Central Command said it disabled two tankers as they tried to reach an Iranian port. This came a day after US Military and Iran exchanged fire in the straight of Hormuz fighting that was triggered by an earlier attack on another Iranian tanker. And U.S. central Command said in a post on X its forces have now redirected 57 commercial vehicles disabled four others. And two of the disabled ships were oil tankers struck by a Navy F18 Super Hornet. So we're using Navy fighter ships to fire fighter planes to fire on their ships again. Worst ceasefire in history. Now, Trump said he's got a deal. He's been saying that for months. He's also said that he was going to end the war in Ukraine within the first 30 days. And now we're into, you know, whatever month and year it is. But the war continues. The ceasefire is not real. The spin continues, continues. The propaganda continues. Tell your mama, don't listen, don't listen. And stay vigilant. All right, here's what my mom knows and your mom knows and everybody's mom knows. Gas prices are crazy, and this is not getting any better. And I wanted to say something in particular. I wish this happened during the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. I mean, there were some blips when gas prices went up. But over the course of 20 years of war, most Americans never felt the impact of war. They lived their lives uninterrupted. Taxes never went up. Gas prices never went up significantly. Definitely not like this. And my friend Kelly Seacach, C I K A C H, sent me a note from Ohio on Instagram. Thank you, Kelly, for following me on Instagram. And if you haven't already, please follow me over there. I posted basketball pictures and other stuff and of course, clips from the show, but she said Ohio Gas was 479 yesterday and 499 today. Yippee. Kelly said 499. Almost five bucks. It'll probably be five bucks by next week. That is crazy. So if you're driving your mother to ihop or to brunch or you are a mother going to pick up your kids. And of course, let's remember all the people who are working on Mother's Day, especially the moms who are working on Mother's Day and the people who've lost their mothers or never had mothers, all of you can reflect on the impact of the women in your life and the moms in your life or the mother figures in your life. But all of us are feeling $5 gas. Oh, of course, except for one guy. Play that clip, Chris. 20% and we're up. The stock market's higher now than when we started this war. And I thought oil prices would go to 200, $250. It's at $100 now. And I think you're surprised and I'm surprised, but even if it went to 200, it would have been worth it. Yeah. I mean, Trump's not standing at the gas pump pumping any gas. Right. You know, I don't know if you know this, but if you go to New Jersey, you don't pump your own gas. It might be other states, too, I'm not sure. But it's always weird when you leave New York or Connecticut or another state and you go to New Jersey and you get out to pump your gas, and you're not allowed to pump your gas, which is kind of like Trump his entire life. So he says if it goes to $200 a barrel, if gas prices go to $200 a barrel, I mean, gas prices are going to be, what, 10 bucks a gallon? And he's okay with it, and he thinks it's worth it. I don't think it's worth it for us. I think it's worth it for Iran. And that's why Iran is continuing to stay entrenched. The regime is still in place. The Strait of Hormuz is not open. The enriched uranium has not been secured. And our enemies, even on this Mother's Day weekend, are celebrating. Our enemies are celebrating.
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- [17:38]
Paul Rykoff
All right, it's Friday. Excuse me. Thankfully. Finally. Right? And on Friday, they dump stuff. The government generally dumps news that they want you to hear to kind of change your opinion on something or move your eyes to another direction. Or they just dump bad news. So I'm recording This, you know, close to four, a little after four o' clock on Friday. You'll be seeing it in the evening. Between the time that I record this and the time it drops, who knows what kind of crazy shit they could release. In the Pentagon in particular, they often like to release stuff on Friday nights. They know it's Mother's Day. They know the NBA playoffs are on. They know you're not looking. Here's one they wanted you to see. The Pentagon has now released more UFO files. 162 new, they say new UFO files. Interesting timing because Epstein continues to be in the crosshairs. We hear that there's a continued clamoring for the Epstein files. Marjorie Taylor Greene and others continue to speak out. It's now been reported that Representative sorry Boebert was pulled into the Situation Room to drop her support for releasing the Epstein files. Tom Massey, the congressman from Kentucky, has spoken out about that. So seems like an interesting time to release. A lot of UFO files are also called, they're not calling them UFOs. This is a new term that you're going to get familiar with, UAPs, which are unidentified Aerial Phenomena. Now let's be honest here. Everything that is in this category is unidentified, right? That's the definition of a UFO or a uap. So we don't know what it is. It doesn't mean it's aliens. It just means they don't know what it is. But of course, the department has released this information and said the American people can now access the federal government's declassified UAP files instantly. The the latest UAP videos, photos and original source documents from the entire United States government are all in one place. No clearance required. They're not going to release the Epstein files, but they're going to release all these videos of grainy that might be a helicopter or a drone or somebody with defective camera or somebody tripping on shrooms in the middle of a field. But they will be releasing this on a, on a rolling basis as they are discovered and declassified with tranches posted every few weeks. Let's check back in a couple weeks and see how that timing matches up with, I don't know, Epstein files or other issues. There is a communication strategy. Everything is not a distraction from the Epstein files. But there are often things that they want to distract from and I think this will be a convenient use of that tactic. And Trump, of course, has something to chime in. He posted on Truth Social Friday that these documents will allow people to quote, quote, decide for themselves and then he wrote in caps, what the hell is going on? And then he said, have fun and enjoy. He loves to feed this shit. He loves to feed conspiracy theories. He loves to cons, to feed all kinds of speculation. This is brought to you by the guy who started the rumors about Barack Obama's birth certificate. It's another reason, of course, to stay vigilant. All right. Meanwhile, Hegseth is doing Hegsethian things. He continues to release videos. He released a new one with him behind this like graphic stuff that's kind of like a bizarro TED Talk where he talks about how they are going to save the taxpayers lots of money. I'll ask Chris to play a short clip of this, please. Chris. A broken Pentagon bureaucracy was doing the same thing for decades. When our war fighters needed more weapons, aircraft and ships, the Department of Defense allowed contractors to double dip at your expense. They charge you, the taxpayer to build their factories and then charge you again. They've also now introduced us to Deal Team Six. Yes, this group of six people or this deal team six is going to go in there and save us all money. Are they going to have to sign a conflict of interest statement? Are they going to have to recuse themselves from any investments? We should ask that question because meanwhile, I will remind you that Trump's sons continue to land massive Pentagon deals that just give the middle finger to all good order and conflict of interest standards. At least two companies died to Don Jr. And Eric have won large government contracts. One is Power US a drone manufacturer led by a special operations veteran that was founded last year. Trump's two sons became tied to the board after it merged with a golf club. Bottom line, they have. The brothers have an investment firm called American Venture that was involved in the transaction. Last week, the Air Force agreed to buy an undisclosed number of drones from Power US as America's war with Iran hit the 60 day mark. The company's co founder, Brett Villakovich claimed that the decision had nothing to do with the investors obvious ties to the White House. Nothing to do with it. But it also didn't stop them from getting it. You know, Billovich, sorry, Vilikovich said to Bloomberg, they're not going to pick a system because of who's on an investor list. They're picking it because they need it now. Bullshit. There are at least 187 drone manufacturers based in the U.S. they could have picked another one that didn't have the President's two sons on it. If you're not angry, you're not paying attention. Stay vigilant. All right, mom, if you're listening, I love you. Thank you for tuning in for over 500 shows. You've taught me so much, especially about perseverance, which will be required as we get into politics of the day. Look, I've said that redistricting is bad. Bad for Democrats, bad for Republicans, bad for America. It's this arms race between the Democrats and Republicans to redraw the map so they can game the system and win. It's like the players also being the umpires or the players being the referees. You should be separate. These should be independently drawn districts that are drawn by independent political people. That's not the case. And in a huge blow to the Democrats, Virginia court has struck down the new House map is a major victory for the Republicans that was going to allow the Democrats to gain as many as four seats in the midterms. So this would go in the category of Democrats spiking the ball way too soon. Again, this is a pretty significant loss for the Democrats as they continue to face losses in the redistricting fight and overall it looks like the Republicans are winning. So with this and the potential overturning of the Voters Rights act, the Democrats are seeing some serious setbacks. And their self assured confidence around their ability to destroy the Republicans in the fall doesn't look so safe anymore. Never underestimate the Democrats capacity to fuck things up. They are the New York jets of politics and you should definitely not count on the Democrats to save you. I always point you toward independence, but the Republicans have had their chance to spoil this country and the Democrats continue to show their ability to do the same. So stay vigilant, all right? I just want to, you know, your mom hopefully or the mother figure in your life taught you to be nice to people and to not do hateful things. This week there was an anti Semitic attacker was sentenced to life in prison. Mohammed Sabri Salman pleaded guilty to 101 charges including one count of murder after the firebombing attack in Colorado last June. It was a terrible attack. He was found guilty on 101 charges including the count of murder for the death of Karen diamond against attack of a group of marchers calling release of hostages in Hamas. The bombing attack wounded dozens of other people. It really terrorized Boulder's tight knit Jewish community and has obviously underscored the threats that the Jewish community faces all across this country. But the victims stood side by side to share their stories and again to call for peace, to call for an end to hate speech. You know, mother's Day is a good reminder that we're all in this together. And hopefully the mother figures in your life reminded you to be nice to everybody, no matter where they come from. So on this Mother's Day weekend, it's a good time to remember to teach your children, teach the people around you and check the people around you. No hate speech against Jewish people, Muslim people, gay people, any people. Just don't be like Trump. Maybe that's a good piece of advice from your mom. Don't be like Trump and stay vigilant. All right. Also, speaking of Trump, he did get another loss this week that's worth noting. A trade court has ruled against the president's tariff, saying that it is illegal. This is a big win for America, a big win for libertarians, a big win for, I think, our economy, big win for, hopefully, our relationships with these countries like Canada. Trump has been dropping these tariffs all over the place, waging economic warfare against even our closest allies. And it's stacking up. But the courts continue to push back. The courts continue to hold the line and maybe, you know, follow the advice of their mothers and looking out for others. It's another reason on this Mother's Day weekend to stay vigilant. All right, let's talk culture for a second. You know, the culture is intersecting with our politics in many different ways. And I've said that the Trump base is starting to crumble and people are starting to distance themselves from him. You see that in, in music. You see that in culture. You see that in sports. Some people, of course, are doubling down, but a lot of folks are finding creative ways to distance themselves. Some more creative than others, few more creative than Dana White, the president and founder of the ufc. I continue to be a UFC fan. I've watched the meteoric rise from the early days. But I have a real issue with Dana White's politics most of all because he says he doesn't do politics, and then he does politics all the time. He's been in the news a lot, especially after last month when Trump attended the UFC event in Miami. Then Dana White publicly very soon after, announced that he's doing a UFC event in Philadelphia with Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania Shapiro. But here's the thing. Dana White often says he's not political. And on the Breakfast Club, which is a pretty influential piece of independent media, Charlamagne took him to task better than anybody I think I've seen. Play that clip, please.
- [28:17]
Dana White
Chris in 16, he called me and asked me, would you speak for me at the Republican convention? And everybody Told me not to do it, don't do it. This is going to be bad, and he's never going to win and all that kind of stuff. But this was a guy that was always good to me and always treated me well, and I did it.
- [28:36]
Paul Rykoff
I can understand that. You know, that's your friend. But when your friend has a disapproval rating of 62%. Right. Record high. People say they don't like his handling of the Iran war, the economy, shitty. Cost of living for people is up. Why can't you tell your friend he's failing the people as a friend?
- [28:52]
Dana White
Well, he's the President of the United States.
- [28:54]
Paul Rykoff
Still your friend and.
- [28:56]
Dana White
Yeah, I know, but, you know, for me to get involved in, it's like if your friend had a. I'm sure people disagree with you that are friends with you, and everybody has friends that you. Just doesn't mean you're not friends with them anymore. It doesn't mean that you.
- [29:09]
Paul Rykoff
Oh, no, I didn't say you shouldn't be friends with him. I just said, why can't you tell your friend he's failing the people? Because these are the same people who make UFC a success.
- [29:17]
Dana White
Yeah, I don't know if I agree that he's failing the people. I think that when the President is done in three years, people will look back on and realize a lot of the good things. See, I'm closer to him, too.
- [29:32]
Paul Rykoff
Number one, Charlemagne, if you don't know, is an excellent interviewer, and I welcome him on the show anytime. A lot of respect for the way he takes people on. I think this is a good example. And Dana White talks about politics, you know, and doesn't acknowledge the fact that he talks about politics all the time and spoke at three Republican National Conventions. He speaks a lot about politics for a guy who's not into politics and spoke at three national conventions. Right. It's another area where I think you'll see the pressure being put on people. There are a lot of UFC fans who don't want to see Donald Trump at every event. I'm one of them. But let's see if the Democrats can follow suit. Shapiro is trying to be there first. This weekend. The UFC will be in New Jersey. Let's see if. If Democratic Gov. Mikey Sherrill will be there. She was on this show a couple months back. I invite her to come on. She's also an inspiring mother and a veteran herself. Watch that space. Watch that space, and let's see what happens as UFC and culture and politics continue to collide. Now, before we get to sports. Let's go.
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Paul Rykoff
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- [33:07]
Paul Rykoff
Below the radar. All right. This is a fun Friday funky cultural thing. Ohio is always an important swing state. Lots of interesting stuff comes out of Ohio. Right? The Cavs are in the NBA playoffs. LeBron himself comes from Akron. J.D. vance is from Ohio. And Vivek Ramaswamy is now the GOP nominee for governor in the state of Ohio. You know what else is coming out of Ohio? Bigfoot sightings. Yes, lots of Bigfoot sightings. Yesterday we had kamikaze dolphins. Today we got some Bigfoot sightings. Chris, play the clip, please.
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Commercial Announcer
Portage in Trumbull Counties. Investigated by Jeremiah Byron with Bigfoot Society podcast.
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Paul Rykoff
It's a hair covered creature. It's on two legs. It's walking like a human would like. It's got somewhere to go.
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Commercial Announcer
The alleged bigfoot encounters started March 6th in Manawa center with a nine foot Sasquatch. I heard some weird noises over in the woods. A woman asking not to be identified, finding strange footprints across her yard.
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Paul Rykoff
Look at this one.
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Commercial Announcer
Deep in the mud, like something heavy made them arches over. And then there looks like a tow. Baffling responding sheriff's deputies. He said it was strange too. He took pictures of the one behind you there and he said it's definitely something. Can't say what it is, but you definitely had something walking around here.
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Paul Rykoff
Yeah. So Bigfoot sightings are on the rise across Ohio. It's very, very strange. It's coming at the same time that Trump continues to release UFO videos. So maybe in addition to seeing Hegseth and Cash Patel riding kamikaze dolphins, they might be cited with bigfoot because it's 2026 and who knows? And look, there are this new group called the Ohio Night Stalkers, Bigfoot Research Group, which sounds like maybe my 13 year old dream, but at least you know, in Ohio they're not joining the Oath Keepers. So this is better. But yeah, yesterday it was kamikaze dolphins. Today it's Bigfoot. Tell your mama. And stay vigilant. Stay vigilant. All right. Sports. Last night was another big one in the NBA. The Pistons took down the Cavaliers as James Harden continued to be, in my view, overly selfish. And do what every coach tells my kids not to do. Do not try to dribble through a double team. He did that. He turned the ball over. Pistons look good. Cade Cunningham is huge. And the Pistons are on a roll now leading that series two zero Thunder. Also looking dominant. Chad Holmgren is really fun to watch. In addition to Shago Alexander and the others. I think it's going to be really fun to see the Thunder take on the spurs in the next round, especially see the big man, Chet Holmgren against Web Yama. But the Thunder are now up 2 0. And of course, tonight, my Knicks, I'm rocking and representing for the Knicks take on the Sixers in Philadelphia. Early start, 7 o' clock game. New York hoping to take a 30 lead. We've got some injuries. OG is out, is a big one. Hopefully the Knicks can put the pedal down, get the win and put us in good standing. If not, we're going to have an interesting week ahead. Timberwolves will play the spurs tonight In a series tied 1 1. Last night, the Hurricanes took care of the Flyers 4 to 1. They took a 30 series lead there. Tonight you got the Sabres against the Canadiens, Buffalo's leading one nothing. And the Ducks and Golden Knights will clash and they are tied 1:1. Also, the WNBA season starts this weekend, a time when we will see the prowess and excellence of many, many mothers who are also professional basketball players. As a reminder, the Aces from Las Vegas won the championship last year, winning their third title in four years. Really a dynasty. But we are rooting for the Liberty here in New York. And I want to tell you, just a little side note. This week, my son, my older son is 10 years old and he was on his way to practice and he said, dad, you know, I'm going to get my Liberty shirt on. And he put on his Liberty shirt and he wore it proudly to basketball practice. And as a guy who grew up in the 80s and 90s, the idea that boys would be inspired by women's sports was kind of just not on our radar. But I think it's a sign of how far basketball has come, how far our culture has come, and how far these amazing athletes have come. And it's great to see that boys can root for incredible girls and girls can root for incredible boys. But the overall excellence that's on the basketball courts at the WNBA and how women's sports has risen is a tremendous testament to so many groundbreaking women. And I will remind you, I'm extremely excited to see women's flag football in addition to men's flag football in the Olympics coming up. We had our Friday basketball, as I mentioned, and we're lucky enough to be in the shadow of the World Trade center, and we play Old dad basketball every Friday morning in a court that looks like it's straight out of a video game. And the youngsters around here, boys and girls, are pretty fortunate too. But the game is such a powerful and important part of the cultural bloodstream in this city, but across this country for all ages, for all backgrounds and for all genders. And I think it's hard to imagine New York or America without basketball. And especially in this city when the Knicks are winning, it's definitely a reason to be inspired. But before we finish, I've got a Mother's Day special and a sports related something good. Women athletes are doing some exceptional things and breaking barriers that were never possible before. And last week Brown University senior Olivia Pichardo made history when she became the first woman to to pitch in an NCAA Division 1 baseball game and got the final out in a key 164 win for Brown University over Cornell. She said, I was really excited. I had to take some deep breaths to calm myself down and really lock in on the game. She's played for Brown since her first year. After becoming a walk on for the Brown Bears, the first woman on a D1 varsity baseball team, she is shifting the attention to her teammates who clinched a spot in the Ivy League tournament for the first time since 2007. She says she hopes to serve as a role model for other young women athletes. She said it's important for inspiring the younger generation of female baseball players to give them some kind of hope. I want to play at the collegiate level no matter what division. That door is open for them and it is possible. Atta girl. Great to see her. Super inspiring and especially inspiring as we go into Mother's Day and a shout out to all the moms out there who've done so much to set the example to raise great kids and help us all stay vigilant. All right, it's been a tiring week but we got through it. Last night. I was on CNN late. Thank you to Laura Coates who had me on there. We will have a special Media Summary episode this Sunday morning and every Sunday I'll share with you a couple of quick media hits that'll help you get up to speed on the weekend that you might have missed. Skip the cable news shows, skip the network shows and just check out our special Sunday morning podcast. We'll also have an early one for you on Monday and then regular shows throughout Another big week ahead. My thanks to the guests this week, especially Ty Pinkins who joined us from Mississippi. The independent candidate there. Inspiring guy. Go back and check him out if you haven't. Next week we will have a number of great shows and guests, including Preston Stewart who is a combat veteran who's got a huge following on YouTube. He does great national security and war analysis. If you've never heard of him, tune in for that. It'll be great. And we'll do a home and away on YouTube as well. So follow us on YouTube where we are continuing to pump out great content. And we're daily. We're daily now every five days, every day of the week, every day of the week. In the evening time, we will post a new show on the weekends. On Sundays we'll have a morning one for you. But look for it after dinner on the east coast time. It'll be there to help you summarize your day or take you into a new one. You can get IA merch. We got cups, we got hats. If you need a last minute mom's gift, I don't know if it'll be there in time, but she will appreciate the sentiment. You can join our Patreon community and know that even on Mother's Day, America is divided. But we are working to change that here at Independent Americans. Bring the light to contrast the heat of all the other political shows. If you're among the now 45% of Americans who are independent, this is your show. Our independent movement is the hope for the future. Tell your mama. Country over party, people over politics, light over heat, challenging the status quo and fueling a new movement that spans all across our country. And that movement is growing because our hope is the oxygen of democracy. And it's led by so many amazing mothers, including mine, who I want to give a huge shout out to. I love you so much Mom. Thank you for riding with me always and for showing me the way. To my mother in law Laney, to my sister in law Melissa, and especially to my amazing wife Lori, who continues to be the rock for our family, the guiding light. The inspiration just shows us what kindness and love is all about. So my thanks to her and happy Mother's Day to her and all the mothers who are listening. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please share it far and wide. Invite others to declare their independence. Share it with your mom or every mom you know. And stay vigilant, my friends, because eternal vigilance, it is the price of freedom. And now you're not alone in your vigilance. We're all vigilant and we're all in this together. I'm your host, Paul Rykoff. Thank you for tuning into Independent Americans this week. Go back and check out the episodes. If you missed them, follow us on YouTube, Apple Podcast and wherever you're listening or watching now. And Happy Mother's Day to all of you everywhere. Stay vigilant Moms and stay vigilant America Archipelago he 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 identity dependent is an attitude an island in the sea of rhetoric and I can probably go he tells me the laugh and write our dreams for those without a clue and when you wait it's time to grow Powered by righteous media and now comfort A poem A warm bath with candles dimly lit Lost in a serene and relief from my chronic dry eye A smooth glass of lemonade and relief from a chronic dry eye Brenda, listen buddy, you're just not giving comfort here. But for example, the Cequa solution starts to repair the damage to your eyes in as little as two weeks. It's comfortable from the first drop.
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Commercial Announcer
CEQA is a prescription topical solution for dry eye disease that helps to increase the production of natural tears in your eye. The most common side effects include eye pain and redness. Don't touch vial. Tip to anything. Use as directed, then discard. Wait 15 minutes before reinserting contacts. Don't use if you're allergic to Sequa.
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Paul Rykoff
It helps your eyes produce more of their own natural tears. Oh, you're right, that's comfort. Seaquah. Visit cequa.com that's C E Q U A dot com and seek the AH for yourself.
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Commercial Announcer
I like things my way, my coffee, my schedule and my treatment. So I talked to my doctor about self injecting with the Vivgard Hytrulo pre filled syringe which contains fgardegamide, alpha and hyaluronidase qvfs. See, it's injected under your skin subcutaneously. It means I can inject in my space on my time. It's my treatment, my way. Visit vivgartmyway.com that's V Y V-G-A-R-T myway.com and talk to your doctor about Vivgard Hytrulo brought to you by Argenics.
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Paul Rykoff
If you like the show, please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe.
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Thank you for listening.