Marcella (1:35)

Wow.

Erica (1:36)

Beautiful.

Sergio (1:37)

Beautiful.

Erica (1:38)

It is beautiful. Oh, SJV is complimenting my hair today. I see what you're doing.

Marcella (1:47)

Just her hair. As jb. Just her hair.

Erica (1:50)

I mean, my hair is going crazy. All right. No one cares. All right.

Marcella (1:53)

You have good hair today.

Erica (1:54)

I never needed a sip more in my life. So, Shelly, take us away.

Sergio (2:00)

But before we begin, I think you'd like to enjoy the simultaneous sip. That's why you're here. And all you need is a cup

Owen Gregorian (2:07)

or a mug or a glass, a

Sergio (2:09)

tank or chalice or stein, a canteen, jugger flask, a vessel of any kind. Fill it with your favorite liquid. I like coffee. And join me now for the unparalleled pleasure, the dopamine hit of the day, the simultaneous sip. Go.

Marcella (2:29)

Ah.

Owen Gregorian (2:34)

I think that's a vintage one.

Erica (2:37)

For those that are feeling this Monday, can you take an extra one with me? Thank you. I need one more.

Owen Gregorian (2:44)

I think that's a vintage one. Before he fleshed out the full sip.

Erica (2:49)

Wait, the ah is wearing off the bottom of my mug. The sucker's been used so much, and that's sort of how I'm feeling like.

Owen Gregorian (2:57)

But anyway, yeah, it's important. It tells you it's an Authentic mug.

Erica (3:03)

I know, and I think I'm gonna take a Sharpie to it and try to spruce her up. So, you guys, welcome to the Scott Adams School. My name is Erica, and I'm here with the three best news crew co hosts in the world. We have Owen Gregorian. Owen, you sound very lively for a Monday. Is that true?

Owen Gregorian (3:23)

It is. I'm feeling good. Good morning, everyone.

Erica (3:26)

I love that. And Sergio, I see Little Punchy still there with you. We're still in 2026. I appreciate that. And how are you, Sergio?

Sergio (3:39)

Well, if we can change this daylight Saving times conspiracy that I want to start today, then we're going to be fine.

Erica (3:46)

You know, it's a hoax. It's a hoax.

Owen Gregorian (3:48)

How will we save the daylight?

Sergio (3:50)

Well, no, we have to. Oh, yeah.

Erica (3:56)

Sergio is going to work on that today. He's going to workshop it. And, of course, our beautiful Marcella attorney talent back galore.

Marcella (4:07)

Good morning.

Sergio (4:08)

Good morning.

Marcella (4:09)

I am. It's a Monday.

Erica (4:10)

I'm overcompensating for my Monday mood. So you guys just. I wanted to just do a really quick reframe. You can grab your book if you want to, but it's so fast. You won't need it. It's on page 90 of the paperback, and I just. I felt like this was a little bit appropriate with everything going on, because I'll tell you why in a minute. So the title is History is Imaginary. So it says. Are you plagued by events from your past? Most of us are, to some degree. The ugly memories that lurk in the dark corners of our minds tend to emerge on their own schedule and inject anxiety into our lives. If that describes you, I can help. Histories does not exist in any material way. You can't grab a handful of history. You can't eat it, punch it, kick it, or photograph it. If your past is causing you anxiety, put the past in its place. It doesn't exist. It never will. It can't touch you. The usual frame is History is important. And the reframe. History doesn't exist. I use this reframe often, and it works instantly for me. It doesn't last. But I can take you out of your negative loop right away. After all, how can I be anxious about something that doesn't exist? And I just want to drive that home because so many people live in their past, and, you know, there could be really, really terrible things that happen to you, like a bad event, a bad memory, whatever it is. But it already happened, and it's. And when you're thinking about it, A lot of people are, like, reliving the emotions of it and they're feeling it again, but it's not actually happening again. It already happened and it's over. So, you know, if something creeps into your head, just tell yourself it doesn't exist. Okay? And we are the only species on this planet that actually keeps punishing ourselves and reliving things. Like, animals aren't doing it, we do it. And the same thing is, like, think about the relationships you have with people also, because sometimes we go back to history when talking to friends or family or loved ones, and we're, like, repunishing them for things that they did the past. And you have to let it go. It doesn't exist anymore. So I hope if anyone needed to hear that today, that that helps, because it. It already happened. And I'm going to say, even for things that were brutal, it happened once. Okay? Don't bring it back into your daily life. It does not need to be there. All right? So that being said. Yeah.

Sergio (6:49)

Oh, yeah. I love that one because you mentioned the animals, and that's the most important thing. Animals live in the present. They're not living in the past or the future.

Owen Gregorian (6:57)

So I liked another way that Scott phrased this, which was that imagine you're just spawning in a video game right now with all the skills and things that you have, and you have a certain set of abilities, you have a certain set of things, resources, and you're just starting fresh, just like you were spawned in a video game today. And it's a little bit along the lines of the simulation frame, but I think it was intended to be a lot like what you just said, that nothing in the past exists anymore. You're just starting today, right now, with what you have, and you want to do the best you can, just like you would in a video game, saying you want to play the game as best you can from right here and right now. And that's a really good way of thinking about things, I think. Yeah.

Erica (7:40)

So everybody, like, let's do a simultaneous sigh, like, just inhale and then let all of the bullshit out.

Marcella (7:49)

Ah.

Erica (7:51)

Start fresh. Let's go with the news.

Owen Gregorian (7:55)

I'd like to do the news, but the news is all in the past, so it doesn't exist.

Erica (7:59)

I mean, all right,

Marcella (8:02)

they have the papers, and then someone else has papers today, too. Who is that?

Owen Gregorian (8:09)

I'll work on that.

Marcella (8:10)

Oh, okay.

Erica (8:12)

All right.

Marcella (8:12)

So let's just.

Erica (8:13)

One second stories, y'.

Owen Gregorian (8:14)

All.

Marcella (8:15)

Oh, here we go. One second, though. There they are. He, like, magically got them from me. There you go. So, Mother of Satan, as we start the news today, we start with Mother of Satan. Bomb throwing at Gracie Mansion protest foiled by a quick New York NYPD action. Sorry, I shouldn't be laughing. It's not a funny story. But it's just funny that we're starting with it and it's in the past. But anyway. In a shocking incident Saturday afternoon, two alleged self radicalized teenagers inspired by ISIS hurled homemade explosive devices filled with the highly volatile TATP explosive nickname Mother of Satan at protesters outside the New York City Mayor Mandani's office residence Gracie Mansion. The targets were participants in a small anti Muslim community demonstration organized by activist Jake Lang. Fortunately, the bombs failed to fully detonate. Sorry. As intended. Causing no injuries as sparking panic as smoke and flames erupted. And NYPD officers move fast to arrest the main suspects. 19 year old Ibrahim Kumi and 18 year old Emir Balot from Pennsylvania. They arrested six people overall. Sources say that the pair had watched ISIS videos and even traveled to terr linked areas before the attack. That's as far as we know. The FBI has now taken over as full terrorism probe with evidence including bomb making materials found in nearby vehicle sent to Quantico. So that's very worrisome.

Owen Gregorian (10:04)

I would just add that the bombs were packed with like nuts and bolts and screws, so it would have been a really bad thing if they had gone off. You know, I don't know too much about these explosives, but I'm assuming they would have, you know, spread those things pretty far and wide and injured or killed a lot of people. So thank God for alleged incompetent terrorists.

Erica (10:24)

Yeah. And that's a, that's a dirty bomb. Yeah. And they found other ones. They found another one in his car, in one of their cars. So you know, this is like right at the. Right here. It's right here, right now.

Marcella (10:36)

Sorry. I wanted to add that Mandami did condemn the situation, but he did it in general terms, which means that he, he talked about the police bravery but he didn't criticize any of the radical Islam Islamist truth in New York. So not surprised there.

Erica (10:56)

Yeah, everybody just, you know, be careful. Like we're in like a really wacky time right now. I'm not saying live in fear, but like live with, you know, your head on a swivel right now and just pay attention. And for me, because I am a worry wart, like just try to avoid like, you know, crowded areas a little bit. Like just, just take your, take a little More consideration when you're making decisions about what you're doing day to day, especially if you're in an area like New York City is very volatile. Maybe your, your little city where you are isn't. So you know where you live. But just pay attention. Okay. It's.

Sergio (11:33)

Erica, is. Oh, and maybe is Jake Lang involved in this too? You said Jay Lang. Is that the same guy?

Marcella (11:41)

He's an activist that had a anti Muslim protest there.

Sergio (11:47)

So he's the one that has the bacon and the Qurans. So maybe that's a good advice. Don't do that. Don't take bacon and Quran.

Marcella (11:55)

We have freedom of speech and maybe always.

Owen Gregorian (12:00)

I don't want to infringe on anybody's freedom of speech, but I would say that I would not be going to a protest of any kind right now.

Erica (12:06)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because people are going to act out the way they want to act out at these protests. They're, they're both, any, all sides are very volatile. So everybody's trying to get a reaction out of everyone. So they brought, you know, a pig and a Quran. Well, the other people brought dirty bombs. So, you know, let's not say one person shouldn't do something.

Marcella (12:30)

I don't think they're. They will. They were, they were Mother of Satan. But not dirty. I guess dirty would mean chemicals.

Owen Gregorian (12:38)

I think normally dirty bombs talk about like nuclear, you know, material or stuff like that. But, but it's bad. It's a, it would have been a very bad thing. It would have killed a lot of people. It would have, it would have been a major terrorist attack if it had been successful. And so I would treat it like an alleged major terrorist attack that just was foiled because the alleged terrorists were incompetent. But, you know, these things might happen again. And I just would advise not going to any of these kinds of protests right now. I don't think it's worth it. I don't think you're going to accomplish anything by doing that and you're putting yourself at a lot of risk. And I gave my son the same advice back in the summer of love, 2020 riots and things, because that was going around me. And he expressed, he wanted to go downtown, see everything and just see what it was like. And I'm like, absolutely not. You cannot go anywhere near that. The only things that can happen would be bad. It's not going to help anything. It's not going to improve anything. Just stay away.

Marcella (13:39)

We have like the smartest audience ever and the funniest they Were like, not dirty. Dirty bombs are radio radioactive. I love the audience.

Owen Gregorian (13:51)

I mean, it's. It's an improvised explosive device, an ied. I think that's what the police described it as.

Marcella (14:00)

All right. Oh, and do you have.

Owen Gregorian (14:04)

Well, getting into what's going on in Iran, they apparently have named their new supreme leader. I saw one story that said they were keeping it secret and another story that said it was the sun or. I don't know if it was grandson or something of the over other. Khmeni Mochtaba. I don't know how to pronounce that.

Marcella (14:21)

Mosaba.

Owen Gregorian (14:22)

Mosaba.

Marcella (14:23)

J's pronounced like an S. Okay.

Owen Gregorian (14:26)

So apparently the Mo. Saba is the new leader, at least for today. And Trump is warning that any new leader needs his approval and that this one isn't going to probably last very long. In the past, he has said that this particular person is unacceptable and lightweight, and he's been described by others as a regime hardliner and kind of like the power behind the robes and an election meddler. And apparently he's also impotent, so allegedly. So that's coming out about him,

Marcella (15:02)

but very private.

Owen Gregorian (15:04)

Yeah. I mean, those stories are coming out now, though. So anybody who gets to the limelight is gonna.

Marcella (15:09)

There's no fog of war now.

Owen Gregorian (15:11)

Yeah. So that's going on. I imagine he just went to the top of the target list from the Israelis in the US So we'll see if he survives. I know there was a report that he was wounded in a past bombing recently, but I don't know if that's true or not. And, you know, I don't know if anyone knows where he is, but I certainly think they're going to be looking for him.

Sergio (15:33)

On the notes, it said that he's the chosen. His name means chosen one. Marcela.

Marcella (15:38)

Yeah, it means chosen means chosen and varsity.

Sergio (15:43)

And he's got an older brother, too. I wonder how he. He was able to send the job to his little brother. Because his name is also chosen, too. The older brother, too.

Owen Gregorian (15:56)

The same name or a different one also?

Sergio (15:58)

No, it's a different. It also means that it has. It's a different name, but it also means chosen one, too.

Marcella (16:04)

Oh, really? I didn't.

Owen Gregorian (16:05)

How many words for chosen one do they have?

Marcella (16:08)

I guess three or four. I have no idea. I mean, it says that. Well, that. It says that his wife was killed in the US Attack, as well as his father, we know, obviously. And his. His mom, I think, was killed, and so was his son. His son and maybe his Grandson. So this is probably like the villain story, like to begin. And, and Trump had indicated that he wasn't happy with this choice obviously. So he, he's been known as a hardliner. He was involved in the protests that occurred before and putting them down, not the recent ones, but the ones before. And, and he was known as a hardliner working with the ir, irgc and he gained a reputation because the besieged forces were under his influence and cracked down very severely in the 2009 green movement. So he's been, he's like the, probably a meaner version of his dad.

Sergio (17:17)

He doesn't have a good sense of humor, it looks like, does he?

Owen Gregorian (17:21)

No, I'm guessing not long for this world. But that's just my thought.

Sergio (17:27)

How much time do you guys.

Marcella (17:28)

Erica had a theory though that I like. Oh, you like that, Erica, you want to mention your theory?

Erica (17:35)

Well, I just said, I'm like, why would you keep naming the people that are the next leader? Because they're going to be the next target.

Marcella (17:44)

I said.

Erica (17:45)

Or is it like a head fake? Like this is the next leader and it's like someone that they just don't like and they're like, just take this guy out while the real guy runs off in another direction. Because why, why would you name them? Like, it just seems strange.

Owen Gregorian (17:58)

So I don't know, I, I tend to think if I were that person and they were setting me up, I wouldn't like that and I wouldn't want to accept the position. But I think I said over the weekend that I, you know, if I were trying to be the next leader, I think what I would be doing is staying very quiet and very hidden right now. And that's probably the main thing. And then the second thing might be to have whatever back channel communication I could have with the United States to try and convince them that I would be playing ball with them and cooperating. I don't think that's what this Masaba person is doing. It sounds like the opposite of that, but yeah, I don't know. I, I mean it does seem like they're in whack, a mole mode with the bombings, so we'll have to see.

Marcella (18:43)

You have to remember that Islam is asking for sacrifice. And so to sacrifice yourself for Allah is the, the greatest thing you can do. So when you are saying somebody put themselves out there as supreme leader and they might be killed, this is what they're, what they were taught since they were little to do this and that's like a hero to them.

Owen Gregorian (19:08)

Yeah.

Erica (19:10)

All right.

Sergio (19:13)

If he's impotent, he's gonna make it to the Next with the 70 virgins.

Erica (19:17)

What's the point?

Owen Gregorian (19:18)

Might not be. Well, I don't know. Maybe he gets it restored in heaven.

Marcella (19:22)

Where did the impotent come from? Like, how do we know? Did we get a spy in there?

Owen Gregorian (19:27)

It's some kind of story that was in the news. I'm just reporting the news. I don't know how they know you're just reporting it. Okay, well, I mean, I, you know, I'm assuming. I don't know. Anyway.

Erica (19:37)

All right, moving on.

Marcella (19:38)

Moving, moving on from that.

Owen Gregorian (19:40)

A little bad news. There is a seventh casualty on our side. Someone succumbed to their industry in injuries. He was in Saudi Arabia. So there was some attack on Saudi Arabia. We don't have the person's name yet, but there is a seventh casualty from the United States.

Erica (19:55)

Unbelievable.

Owen Gregorian (19:56)

Yeah.

Marcella (19:57)

Uneven you guys are.

Erica (19:59)

Is anyone else, like, so just, like, off on a tangent for a second.

Marcella (20:03)

Yes.

Erica (20:03)

I'm so confused with this war. I know. Like, I'm always like, someone make me feel better, make it make sense. But I'm feeling very, you know, no two things are the same, but I'm feeling very Iraq war vibes right now because I'm like, what are we doing? Like, didn't we do enough? Like, how much more do we need to do over there? Like, wouldn't it be amazing if we could be like, okay, you know, that was good. And so I don't understand, like, what. What do we need to keep doing? Because I don't believe everything I'm seeing. I'm very confused by some of the videos. Some people tell me they're AI. Some people are like, no, I see, you know, valid places, you know, reporting the videos I'm seeing. But, like, what are. So someone help me.

Owen Gregorian (20:48)

Well, the. The way I see it is that Trump is a finisher. You know, like, we've been fighting this war, depending on your point of view, since what, you know, 47 years. Like, long time. And, you know, I think Trump's already mostly, I think, hopefully put an end to the Israel and Gaza conflict. He put an end to the Afghanistan conflict that's been going on for 20 years. He's working on Ukraine. And I think this might be a piece of that puzzle because it does have an impact on Ukraine and on Russia, and he's trying to put an end to this problem in the Middle east. And the next one is probably going to be to finish the problem in Cuba and to finish the cartels across our Western Hemisphere. And that seems to be his foreign policy, is he's not willing to just let these problems fester anymore. He's going to put an end to them.

Erica (21:45)

What is.

Owen Gregorian (21:47)

Well, I think regime change in Iran would be the, to take out the leadership, to, to essentially put leadership in place that is more friendly towards Israel and the United States, and that would not be oppressing their people.

Erica (22:03)

How do we, or so I, I just have questions. Okay, so how do we know who that's going to be? When do you know that's achieved? You know, we're blowing up what refineries and whatever and slowing oil from going to China.

Sergio (22:18)

China.

Erica (22:20)

So. But.

Owen Gregorian (22:20)

Well, I think, I think timing wise, it's going to be at least a few weeks, because they originally said it was going to be three or four weeks, I think, and I think if anything, it might be longer than that because they're bringing a third aircraft carrier in there, and I don't think they're doing that just for show. So it's going to take a couple weeks just for that to get there. And so I would imagine it's either going to be a very strong bombing campaign in the last week, or it's going to go on longer than four weeks. There is some talk now about potentially having ground troops to secure their uranium stockpiles. So there may be some ground operations that go with this to make it more permanent that they don't have any nuclear weapons capability, and so they're going after any of the scientific equipment and any of the uranium stockpiles or the centrifuges, things like that. But I think it's going to take some time. And I don't think, I doubt that Trump would select a leader until they're pretty much done with the ground, ground campaign and the bombing to say, we've achieved all these objectives, we're done, we've completely degraded their missile capability. There's no way they can strike back in any big way. I think they got to get to that point first. And I don't think that we are there yet. I think we've degraded their ability to launch. The last report I heard, and again, this is all fog of war propaganda, but the last I heard was that we had taken out 75% of their launchers, but that means there's 25% left to go. And the, you know, the, they have this underground missile city, which would probably mean you'd have to use either bunker busters or some other kind of really advanced weapons to take that out, at least without some kind of real massive ground operation. So I would tend to think that is still ahead of us. And we're really just ramping up at this point. We're still in the escalation phase of dropping all these gravity bombs and massive things. So I think we're going to see that for another week or two at least, and probably longer than that. And then once the dust is settled and everything's done and they've taken out all their targets that they're going after, then I think Trump will start looking at, okay, who should, who should take power?

Erica (24:22)

All right.

Owen Gregorian (24:23)

And I don't know. I don't think we're going to know until then.

Erica (24:26)

Well, I have one more question, and we don't have to answer it today, because I don't even know if there is an answer. But how is this benefiting Americans here? Like, how is this helping us, America?

Owen Gregorian (24:40)

Well, okay, so I can make the argument. I mean, certainly there are viewpoints on both sides of that, but I think if I make the argument about how it benefits America, number one, it stabilizes the oil supply across the world. If you can have security in the Strait of Hormuz, if you can open up the Iranian oil supplies, which have been sanctioned for a long time, if you have peace in the Middle east, where you don't have so much instability there, which also causes problems with oil prices and things like that, that it would provide more stability and probably cheaper energy prices across the world, you could potentially start building new pipelines again and having more easily and cheap energy supplies across that whole region. You might be able to get the Abraham Accords signed across the whole region and not have some massive resistance to that. I saw a story there was Qatar said that they were going to get rid of their Hamas people because they were condemning the Iran war or not cooperating in some way with that. And so even the pockets of other resistance that are in other countries in the Middle east may get eliminated. And so you may have much less terrorism and a lot more peace and stability across that whole region. And then if you extend the lens out broader, you can say this potentially weakens Russia because it might mean that they can no longer get drones from Iran. And that may bring the Russia, Ukraine conflict to a close because it may give more of an incentive to Russia to settle and to end that conflict. It also potentially weakens China because they're getting a lot of their oil supply from Iran. So at least temporarily, I don't know what the ultimate end will look like for that, but it could mean that we have a lot more influence over where that oil goes. And it might mean that they have to pay more for the oil because right now they're paying cheaper prices for it because they're buying the sanctioned oil at cheaper prices because Iran can't sell it to anybody else. And so if you can open up the market globally, it might mean that China will have to pay a lot more for their oil, which will then weaken their economy and put us in a stronger position relative to China.

Erica (26:51)

Oh, and I get all of that. Like, I know I get all of that. Okay? But we have midterms coming up, and people here are devastated with the economy and everything else. And so now we're like, so as, like, you know, I'm just saying you guys would elf. You know why I ask. And I'm seeing your, your. No, it wasn't, it wasn't a setup. What else? I'm just saying that for like, the everyday American who is. Most people don't follow the news and they aren't following, like, why we're doing this or whatever, but we have midterms coming up.

Marcella (27:26)

The.

Erica (27:26)

Probably the most const. Consequential. And I know everybody always says that, but seriously, like, if we don't win those or whole power, like, none of this matters. And I, I feel like to me, okay, I don't know if anyone else feels this way. I feel like to me, we did enough damage there that they would have to spend enough time trying to sweep everything up and clean up. But it's like, what are we going to do to show Americans that things are going to get better for us? Like, I understand. I understand all the things Owen said, but if we, like, we already were having a hard time making the case to the American people of why Republicans should stay in power, and now it's so much harder because now we're going to see, like, copycat things here. You know, like, we're seeing things in New York, we're seeing things in Austin that makes me feel like we're less safe. So unless I see people getting kicked out of here in droves that are this group people, I don't know how to convince people. You know, I know you're going to talk. Maybe we could talk about ending next because, you know, approval is starting to go toward the Democrats now for fixing the economy, and that is a problem. And I think this, this war is fueling that.

Owen Gregorian (28:44)

Yeah, well, I mean, I, Again, I. There's definitely arguments on both sides of this, and I think a lot of it in my mind, depends on how long this thing lasts. If it's done in a month, then I think it might be seen as a great victory, because everybody loves a winner. And if you can actually get to the point where you have a new leader in Iran that's much better for that region, and it really looks like it's moving towards peace and stability, then that probably also would mean lower oil prices all around the world, including America. It would be cheaper energy prices here, which would directly impact Americans. And it would also mean potentially that we're a lot safer than we were in the past if we eliminate all the terrorism that's coming from that region. And so I think there are some direct benefits to the American people if we resolve it quickly. But I would agree with you that if we're still fighting this war six months from now, that's a disaster for the Republicans. I think the good story would be, we wrap this up in a month, we have a complete victory, we have a. A total surrender from the Iranian regime, We get a new set of leadership that's more peaceful and more friendly towards their neighbors, and then everything goes back to complete peace and stability in that region. Oil prices drop precipitously, everything gets cheaper, and even global shipping becomes cheaper because you don't have to have this expensive insurance. And right now, we're doing this wartime insurance, and everything's spiking. But Trump is telling us it's worth it in the short term to take that pain to get the better benefit in the long term. And I think he needs to demonstrate that, But I think it needs to be done well ahead of midterms.

Erica (30:21)

Let's hope so, because

Sergio (30:24)

it was one. Just quickly, when in history again, all these elements going to repeat themselves again. Everything is aligned in a way that hasn't been aligned like this in the last 100 years for America. So Trump is looking at things 100 years from now, too, not just what's going to happen in the midterms, too, because it's super important to fix this, to win that. But we're talking about the biggest landscape that you can see for America here. If we don't do this now, do you think anybody's going to do it right now? So it's going to suck because we're risking the elections, but somebody had to do it. And Trump, I mean, finally had somebody to say, like, you know what? I'm gonna do it. I don't care about the freaking elections. I'm gonna take on this. So we'll see.

Owen Gregorian (31:12)

And I would say there are things going on domestically to try and make things better for people. I don't know if it'll be enough or not, but it is being done. And even the elections, Trump just announced that he's not gonna sign any legislation until the SAVE act is passed. And so he's basically shutting down the executive part of legislation to say, you better get that SAVE act through or I'm not going to pass anything else. And so he's trying to set an ultimatum from his end to say, we got to fix these elections. And you can speculate whether that's really going to help us or hurt us or make a difference in the midterms. But to whatever extent there is election rigging going on against the Republicans, then if he can get the SAVE act passed and if it actually survives and gets enforced in the midterms, then that could make a big difference on its own. And he is, you know, even the big beautiful bill is still coming through with tax returns that are happening right now. Where Besson came on and said something like the average return or refund is something like 30 $400 and there's still people filing their returns because the April 15th is the deadline. So there's a lot of people that haven't received that yet, but there's a potentially a big refund coming to a lot of people who haven't filed their tax returns yet. And that would potentially give at least a short term boost to the economy and to people's pocketbooks to say, wow, you know, Trump lowered my taxes and there's something like 100 million people, I think they said that would be benefiting from that. So that's a lot of voters that would potentially have a check coming to them that they could directly trace back to the big beautiful bill. And I know there's other things going on with, you know, meat prices and other stuff, and they are working on things like that, but I think he is doing a lot of things domestically at the same time.

Erica (32:55)

I'd like to say so to Marcela, I just want to not pose it to you, but maybe you can also add to this. So you guys, I, for me personally, so I, I can see this big picture. Like, when I see that he's like talking about Cuba next, I'm like, yeah, let's go. You know, and so like the cheerleader part of me that wants to see like a great, you know, free world, like, or a world free of dictators and whatever and communism, I'm like, let's go knock them all Out. Like, I get it. Like, I'm like, boom, boom, boom, boom. But what stops me is just the. The everyday people that are, like, struggling. So, yes, like, I like, oh, my God, imagine if. So, you know, what I imagine is, like, these places, like Iran, everywhere. Mexico. I really pray for Mexico, but I don't know how you're going to fix what's going on there. But I'd love to be able to see all these people move back to their countries and lose freely and, like, embrace their heritage and, like, live the way they want to. Because America is not Cuba and whatever. Love the Cubans. Nothing to do with that. But. So, Marcella, I think if that SAVE act got passed, which I just can't understand this delay. I mean, I do, but I can't understand it. So, yeah, I love that part. And I just feel like the midterms, you know, I just. I'm so afraid of his Democrat coming back in and being like, we're going to open the border again and flood the country again, and then this is all for not. So how do you see it shaking out?

Marcella (34:27)

So, I mean, regardless of anything, always take what the government says to you with a. With a, you know, be. Be very careful what the government tells you. You know, Trump is saying, you know, we'll end in four weeks, whatever. You know, we don't know that. You know, it's not Iraq is different. It's not the same president. It's Trump. But, you know, people in America don't like hearing this nation building, like, nexus, Cuba Nexus. You know, we're kind of over that. So he has to be very careful of losing his base. The SAVE act also has his troubles because it was saying something about transgender change with the parents.

Erica (35:14)

But.

Marcella (35:14)

But as long as they okay it, then it's okay for a minor to do that. I think there was a change in his. In his truth post, where one was just the SAVE act as this, and then a second one was, oh, if a parent allows for transgender change in a minor, then it's good to go. And a lot of people think that maybe that's kind of the poison pill that's put into the SAVE act, that a lot of people, people aren't backing it anymore because of what is being alleged to be in the legislation. That's troublesome for a lot of people in the base.

Erica (35:56)

So.

Marcella (35:56)

But, yeah, getting. Getting beyond the SAVE act, getting them the country to vote with IDs like every other. Most other nation on earth would be

Erica (36:08)

great, by the way.

Owen Gregorian (36:10)

Yeah.

Marcella (36:10)

Like Somalia, which is probably the best example of a non corrupt country, but even they do that.

Owen Gregorian (36:18)

Well, isn't Trump asking for amendments to the SAVE act to get rid of that. Yeah, trans stuff? I mean.

Marcella (36:25)

Yeah. What I read is they did it on purpose. I think there's a true social post

Owen Gregorian (36:29)

that says no mail in ballots except for illness, disability, military or travel, no men and women's sports, and no transgender mutual mutilation surgery for children. So I think he is asking for those things to be fixed before he

Marcella (36:43)

later changed that post and later put a new post where that. That last sentence had. Unless parents allow it.

Owen Gregorian (36:53)

Yeah, Which, I mean, I thought that was the latest one was just literally no transgender mutilation.

Marcella (37:00)

I hope so. I mean, he doesn't really pass the legislation any. I mean, he doesn't write legislation anyways, you know, but I think it would very.

Owen Gregorian (37:10)

The article I'm reading says an earlier version had that parental consent piece in and now he's changed it. So.

Marcella (37:17)

Yeah, I mean, his post might be one thing. The other thing is the legislation itself, which may be full of things, but going down to the American people, things don't look good. I mean, my next story is the world economic shock. So. But you know what, A lot of people are very negative when they, when Trump on January 3rd took Maduro and like this and then brought him back. And other people were very scared of like, oh, we're nation building, we're doing this, we're doing that. And now things are getting better. So. Oh, I might be right. And so is Erica. Like, eventually it'll correct itself by the time we have the midterms.

Erica (38:03)

I hope so. Yeah.

Owen Gregorian (38:04)

Okay, so let me just ask you a question, Erica, or maybe to the group, like, what do you think Trump should be doing domestically to help with midterms that he's not doing

Erica (38:15)

the SAVE Act 100% like there if, like, you know, Scott would always say, if you can't trust voting and your elections, you don't have a country. And so I feel like, I mean, didn't we see enough of this with the 2020 election?

Owen Gregorian (38:33)

But he's doing that, isn't he? I mean, he's doing everything he can to get that through.

Marcella (38:37)

Talk to Tune. What's his name?

Erica (38:41)

Oh, John Thune.

Marcella (38:42)

Oh, make him come to the White House.

Owen Gregorian (38:45)

Well, but that, that seems to be moving in the right direction with Cornyn coming out saying he supports the filibuster idea, which is, again, this, you know, little tactical war going on between him and Paxton. But it does seem like there's some motion in the right direction where they may actually do it. I can't guarantee they will. I'm just as skeptical as the rest of you that the Senate is going to do what we want him to do. But it does seem to me like the right things are happening to try and get that done. So is there. Is there anything he should be focusing on that he's not focusing on?

Erica (39:15)

I don't know. I would like to see more just domestic focus, like, on the everyday people. I don't feel any more safe in the country than I did before. I actually feel. This is how I feel. So if I'm feeling this way, this is like, I. I feel like a feeling of people. Like, what I'm seeing and feeling is more fear. I don't. I mean, I'm thrilled that the border's closed, but everybody's already here. So, you know, we've allegedly brought in,

Owen Gregorian (39:48)

you know, we have a new DHS head now with Mark Wayne, and in theory, that might mean more deportations. He's got a new leader within, setting a new direction. He's got that. And Scott would talk about, like, the, you know, initial period where you first take over, where you can make a lot of changes, like the CEO move. So we may end up seeing some improvements there, too. And I think that, to me, is a visible sign that Trump is looking for better results there.

Erica (40:14)

Okay. I'd like to. And also I'd like to see some people being held accountable for the bullshit

Owen Gregorian (40:19)

and, like, the fraud,

Erica (40:24)

all of the corruption, all of the Russian stuff, the prosecutions, the bad judges, like, the charges against Republicans and sending, you know, people to jail for political reasons. There is. The Republicans seem so weak, and I'm like. And again, I'm just like, we don't do anything to correct. So if I feel like elections and law are nothing, but I don't even feel like I have rights as an American that way. Yes, I have rights. I'm not like a crazy woman, but I'm like, God, if I got in trouble, who knows what the hell kind of judge I'm getting and what law they're going by, because they do whatever the hell they want. So I feel like the country needs to feel like America again and that we should be able to count on our most basic rights equally. And, you know, I know, like, I'm looking at the chat, too. Like, I, you know, I. Some people are like, oh, you're thinking too much, or it's emotion, but if I'm feeling this way, I guarantee you A ton of people are feeling the exact same way I am. So it doesn't, you don't have to convince me, you have to convince a nation. And I, you know, like most of us aren't diving into politics and what's happening and on X and whatever. Like that's a very small group of people in this country.

Owen Gregorian (41:43)

I get it. But I think, I mean to me the economy is going to be the main issue and I think Trump is doing everything he can to make that go in the right direction. I don't know whether he's going to be successful or not. I don't know where the stock market's going to be in November. I don't know where the job picture is going to be in November. It is taking a dive right now. So there are some negative signs in the short term to say we lost a bunch of jobs. However, I pointed out, I think last time we talked about this, or maybe last time I talked about it, that the native born jobs actually went up and it was the immigrant jobs that went down massively. And that's what led, it led to it being a negative number. And so you need to understand that like native born Americans are most likely the voters and the immigrants are less likely to be the voters. And so the job picture might not really be accurate when you just take that headline number that it might actually be improving for native born Americans. And I think that's a general trend since Trump took over is that under Biden we were losing a bunch of native born American jobs. They were negative all the way back to 2018 and now it's moving in the right direction. And that pretty much was right when Trump took over that that changed direction. And so a lot of immigrants are leaving and we are getting at least some of those as native born American jobs is the picture that I see. And so I think it is improving. And then just from a political standpoint, the Democrats just announced they're not going to be doing their convention because they don't have enough money. And Trump does have a lot of money. And so they're going to be doing a Republican convention for the midterms, which is a very new thing. They've never done that before. So you're going to see a bunch of convention, you know, a Republican convention ahead of the midterms. You're going to see a lot more spending on ads from the Republican side. Hopefully they'll spend it in the right places. I know a lot of people have been very critical about where we end up spending that money, but hopefully we will direct it to the right places. And I know Trump understands how important midterms are, so I imagine he's going to exert a lot of influence in that. But in the meantime, I think the big variable is what are we going to see in terms of jobs, what are we going to see in terms of wages, and what are we going to see in terms of stock market and, you know, overall economic outlook? I think that's the big variable. The wrongs we must right, the fights

Sergio (44:04)

we must win, the future we must secure together for our nation. This is what's in front of us. This determines what's next for all of us. We are Marines. We were made for this.

Erica (44:22)

Well, I know we could go on, Marcella.

Marcella (44:25)

Yeah, I mean, I respect Trump a lot. President Trump, I voted for him three times. But I would like to see President Trump focus more on domestic issues. On his truth post, to. I know he was doing rallies, to keep doing those rallies around the country and to feel like the people are being heard. I think as a leader, he's been a great leader internationally, but we don't have that same leader domestically. So I think he needs to turn that up. And I think part of the reason he's not as focused on domestic issues is because of Congress. He doesn't really control as much in domestic issues, but I think that he needs to make, like, a focus of that. I think that will make a difference. Even if it actually doesn't. He doesn't actually do anything. People will feel it. Remember, it's not facts. It's not actual changes that make people vote for you. It's the feeling, oh, he's listening to us. And the Democrats are this horrible thing over here, over here. So I want to see that. I want to see that propaganda get out there.

Erica (45:43)

You know, even if he assigned J.D. like, hey, you got to make the American people feel better. Like, tell them whatever. You got to tell them that we talk all the time and here's what we're doing, but you got to make us feel better because, you know, I'm very aware of what's happening. And as a very informed person, for me to still feel like she. The uninformed people. I mean, I know a lot of people, like, somebody said, live in a bubble, and, like, maybe they don't know what's going on at all, but they do know what. What's happening with their bank accounts and their. Their wallets. So, you know, and. And they can look around and see, you know, crazy stuff happening. But yeah, you got to make us feel better. I need to feel like, you know, we aren't forgotten. I felt very forgotten during the Obama years as a middle income person. And, you know, I, I don't want to feel forgotten again, especially when things are very, very volatile. And I'm like, okay, we get it, Middle east and I appreciate it and all that stuff. But hello, like, what are we doing over here? And I'd like to see more of him, actually, because I think he does bring a calm. So I'd like to see that. Sergio.

Sergio (46:53)

Yeah, on the, on the word itself, I think it's going to be a lot of, well, it's going to be bad for like another month, really. Not encouraging. It's going to be a lot of chaos for this month. But at the end of the month, we have this meeting of Trump with Xi. Right. With China. Right. In China, right. Marcela, not.

Marcella (47:17)

Yeah, it's in China.

Sergio (47:18)

So they're going to meet there and this is going to be a bit important meeting because the last time they met, he had all the power. You know, he was like on top of everything. You know, he, he acted like that too. Now the tables are turned around, right. China has to, you know, doesn't have energy, they don't produce, they don't. We are 100% independent. So starting in April is when things are going to start getting a lot more exciting here domestically also, because we have the 250th anniversary of the nation, we have the Olympics, I mean, the World cup, we have all these events that are going to happen during these months. So don't discount too much what Trump can do in terms of his star power. That's what I'm saying. I think that his star power is going to just shoot up a lot more. And, and as far as the midterms. Yeah, it has never been done before. It's always like a pattern of losing that. Right. So it's like, what are we doing? Right, I get it. But right now I think that it's going to be bad until things are closed with China. That's what I believe.

Marcella (48:32)

The other thing that I want to bring up to everybody, because there's a lot of people on different sides here that are our audience. They're on the Megyn, Kelly, Tucker side. And then there's like the Trump side of things. I want you to know that an enemy always divides and conquers. You have to remember, the Democrats somebody mentioned in the chat are always one block. They're always very united. No matter how Incompetent they are. They united in word salad, but they unite. And I think we need to keep united because our enemies, which are greater than us, are making inroads with that. If we remain divided within the right, I think it's, it's, it's important to remain one thing. And I know that people are gonna be, oh, we can't. We must go this way, let's go that way. Always remember that the information you're taking on and the divide that that's being created is helping China, it's helping Russia, it's helping our enemies in the long run.

Erica (49:42)

That would be amazing. But the. I don't even want to say Republicans, because I'm not even a Republican, but I'll just say it for lack so. But the Republicans, they're mostly free thinkers. And you're not going to pigeonhole people into, like, just going along to get along. It's just impossible. And it's unfortunate in one way, because we can't even just fake it till we make it. We're just so dug in. But it would be amazing if we could do that. But you guys. So listen, we have nine minutes left. Can we lighten it up just a tad? Just.

Owen Gregorian (50:16)

Do you have something good, Marcella?

Marcella (50:18)

Well, we can talk about the LA Marathon and. Well, the LA Marathon happened on Sunday, March 8, and I've run it before. I didn't run it this time. What I should have, because they started awarding the marathon medal at mile 18. So a marathon is usually 26.2. All marathons are created equal. That's how they are. 26 miles point two. But in the LA Marathon, you can get your medal on mile 18 or probably later on, I suppose. Like, what if you decide to go to mile 19 and you're like, damn, I should have gotten my medal on mile 18. So you get a trophy, which is very pathetic because it's like, why are you running it? But the, the reason why I brought it up is because we won the LA Marathon. The United States won the LA Marathon. And the men's race, was it mile or the 26.2? 26.2. So we, we have this picture. Poor Kenyon is on the floor. He had been number one throughout the entire race, but I don't want to butcher his name. But Nathan Martin, the American, like all Americans, was waiting in the wings behind him. And he just was able to, to beat him. So this is him.

Owen Gregorian (51:49)

Wait,

Marcella (51:53)

hold on. Let me put it, Let me put it bigger. So basically, the guy, the Kenyan, was in the Lead for the whole entire time. There's the Kenyan. You see.

Erica (52:04)

Oh, here. Oh, my God. What a gap. He had to close.

Marcella (52:08)

So the. The United States is not there yet. He's come.

Erica (52:13)

That wasn't him in the back.

Marcella (52:15)

No, that's him. That's him.

Erica (52:16)

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Marcella (52:17)

Wait. He's like, move over, loser.

Erica (52:21)

Oh.

Sergio (52:22)

So he was amazing. Wow.

Erica (52:25)

He won.

Marcella (52:27)

When you're finishing that marathon, because I finished the two, obviously not a winner, but a winner inside me.

Erica (52:33)

You're a winner.

Marcella (52:35)

You get so high quality up like you want to destroy. Because one, you can't keep running anymore. At least me. So I gave him my all in that. Like, I took my hat. I was like, taking my shirt off. Like, I literally ran to it. And, like, I pushed this lady out of the way and she looked at me and I was like, I don't care. I'm gonna win. And like, my. In my. So it's great to see America win. Kenyans usually win. We're winners. I just want to say that. That the normal person can do it.

Erica (53:10)

Yes.

Marcella (53:11)

Yeah.

Erica (53:11)

And you don't have to quit. You don't have to quit at 18. Quitters.

Marcella (53:18)

I wonder how many people got their medal. 18. I should have done it. And then I would have just run 18 miles.

Erica (53:24)

The medal at 18 miles isn't a giant loser. L. I don't care. Like, if you're Gonna quit at 18, and I'm saying quit.

Marcella (53:33)

Oh, the picture. Where's the picture?

Erica (53:35)

Do the half marathon. This is the problem with this world. 8th place trophy they have.

Marcella (53:41)

The poor guy Kenyon is, like, not getting up. I feel bad for him. But you know what? I feel good for America.

Erica (53:51)

Oh, yeah.

Marcella (53:54)

So that was my story of my positive story. Do you have any positive stories?

Owen Gregorian (54:01)

A couple things I didn't mention that are happening here. The National Guard apparently is reporting they've helped Memphis arrest 1600 criminals. Of course, the Democrats are suing to try and stop that National Guard deployment, but they've hyped. You know how many people have been arrested? I think it's 6,801 criminals, 703 gang members. They rescued 148 kids. They removed over 800 illegals. So, you know, Memphis had the third highest murder rate in 2024. They had the highest level of violent and property crime. So they're making real progress with safety in Memphis. And that shows you what you can do when the local government cooperates with the National Guard to see what can happen. So we're making Memphis safe again. And there's also an update on Doge that as of now, we've shrunk the government by 12%. As of, I think it's between September 24 to January 2026, it went down from 2.3 million employees to 2 million. And that's saving billions of dollars. Mostly are voluntary exits and it's getting more efficient. So, you know, I know a lot of people think, oh, it's not enough, it's not going to make any difference. But. But to me that's huge. Just because it's the first time in my lifetime, as far as I know, that we've actually made the government smaller. So I want to count the wins along the way and I think, you know, if we can shift more of those people over to private jobs, it's going to make us a lot more productive as a country.

Erica (55:31)

I also want to encourage everybody, don't forget to follow if, if whatever platforms you're on, the link is on. X is at Scott Adams meet M E E T. That's for the Scott Adams meetups. And they just celebrated their hundredth meetup. A hundred Scott Adams. Isn't that crazy? Awesome. And they're all over the world, you guys, it's worldwide.

Sergio (55:58)

So please, I'm having one today here in Tucson.

Marcella (56:04)

Give name. He has name tags.

Sergio (56:06)

Name tags for the everybody.

Marcella (56:09)

Especially because he forgets his name.

Erica (56:11)

Yeah, you guys drop that. That username for Jimmy is the person who put them together. And he's gonna come on locals with me this week, I believe. And he gave me like a tour through his new website. That's amazing. You guys are gonna love what he has and how easy the functionality of it is and everybody's gonna want to do a meetup. So you guys, they happen at those local coffee shops and it could be two people and bars, five people. You could do it at a bar. But you know, that's on you. But I encourage you to do that. It's so fun to meet other people that loved Scott and everything he taught. And you're all like minded and you're all better people instantly because of Scott. So you're gonna meet some great people. And the other thing too that nothing to do with anything but if you guys go to. If someone could drop this too, it's Maga. Wait, Maga Mate.

Sergio (57:10)

Mega Mate.

Erica (57:11)

Maga Mates dot us. Okay? Maga Mates us. If you are single and you're like let's just get some of the BS out of the way. Like we're at least like minded on doesn't have to be fully maga, but you're not, you know, like, off the left. Drop your email in there. And as that gets developed, Kevin, our very own Kev will get information out to you so we can, like, potentially find a love connection. Because I am dying for our first, like, Scott Adams wedding to happen. So let's make my. My dream come true and yours. All right, so we have two minutes left. Anyone else want to do any little announcements or anything? We do have a couple of guests this week. We'll let you know as we go.

Marcella (58:04)

They're saying that the Kansas City meetup lasted about four hours this weekend. Livermore had one. They had a small showing, but they were there. You know, go out there and. And meet. Meet each other and maybe also join MAGA mates if you're. If you're single. If you're not, maybe don't do that, please.

Erica (58:26)

This isn't. What's that called? Ashley Madison. Yeah, this is Mages.

Marcella (58:31)

Yeah, that's a different thing.

Owen Gregorian (58:34)

You're not going to find Erica's profile on Mega Mates.

Erica (58:37)

You're not.

Owen Gregorian (58:39)

Okay.

Erica (58:41)

Oh, Andy Wang is suggesting EJ and Marcella. I'm just saying.

Marcella (58:49)

Where's EJ at?

Erica (58:51)

Just kidding, Jay. All right, you guys, this was so fun today after getting through the serious stuff, you know, which has to happen. But the comments were so awesome today on all the platforms. Watching you guys. And we will be back tomorrow. And listen, don't forget, the Dilbert calendar is still on Amazon. And, oh, we're going to also put the link to the official Coffee with Scott Adams merch in the bio of everything we're doing. So, like, YouTube, you'll find it there. Yeah, we'll get it there in a couple of days. Okay? So thank you, Shelly, for hosting us today. And you guys, a closing sip to our beloved Scott, who. Guys, I cried a lot over the weekend. It's just like the waves are wacky. But we miss him. We miss him, we miss him, we miss him. And we honor, honor him. So let's have a closing sip to Scott. And don't forget we have to be useful and leave your past in the past. Okay? All right. To Scott, you guys.

Owen Gregorian (59:53)

To Scott.

Erica (59:54)

See you tomorrow.