TFTC Podcast #661: "We Will Not Live Like This" with Tom Luongo

Host: Marty Bent | Guest: Tom Luongo
Date: September 15, 2025

Episode Overview

In this intense, wide-ranging episode, Marty Bent sits down with political and financial commentator Tom Luongo to analyze the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk, reflect on its societal impact, and connect the political upheaval to broader economic and geopolitical trends. The conversation traverses from cultural rifts and the US political climate, to central banking, the future of homeownership, and the potential relisting of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The driving question: How do we react, cope, and reorganize society when faced with coordinated political violence, institutional rot, and attempts to erode civilizational norms?

Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. Political Assassinations and the "Vibe Shift"

• Initial Response to Violence

  • Tom admits to underestimating Charlie Kirk’s influence and is struck by the national response:

    "I’ve had to do some recalculation as to where we are in a good way... watching people finally see enough is enough and this is uncool... is edifying." (01:07, Tom)

• Rejection of Escalation and Embracing a Positive Ethos

  • Tom cautions against turning the moment into an “us vs. them” dichotomy, arguing for defining what we stand for, not just against.

    "You have to redefine yourself in a positive manner. You can never just be against something else. When you are against XX, that does not mean you are then by definition not X." (05:35, Tom)

  • Marty expresses ultimately positive surprise at the public’s reaction:

    "The positive reaction of people throwing their hands up saying enough is enough... people who aren't on social media... waking up and saying, no, this is not acceptable." (03:38, Marty)

• The Turning Point: From Passivity to Resolve

  • Luongo focuses on society hitting a wall with this level of political violence:

    "We will not live like this. When you state it that way, that means you’re now going to look at this and say, how are we going to fix this?" (05:38, Tom)

2. Legal and Political Fallout: RICO, Article 2, and Presidential Powers

• The Trump Approach

  • Discussion of Trump’s public calls for RICO investigations against those funding radical groups and the careful pace of action:

    "Political time works faster than legal time... you kind of had to go through the motions." (11:19, Tom)

  • On the importance of public understanding the complexity behind impeachment protection and strategic lawfare:

    "You have to set the political table in such a way that he's impeachment proof... The response to Charlie Kirk proves that we’re at that point." (19:48, Tom)

3. Manipulation, Misdirection, and Geopolitical Underpinnings

• Information Warfare and Narrative Shaping

  • Tom warns against latching onto convenient scapegoats (e.g., blaming Israel for everything), emphasizing the deep-rooted influence of Britain and the City of London:

    "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing everyone he didn’t exist. At this moment, that’s the remnant of the British Empire." (26:06, Tom)

• Disguised Operations

  • On the orchestration of chaos:

    "Sometimes you just set the game board up, set the zeitgeist and allow the thing to percolate... and then capitalize ex post facto. That’s how narrative management works." (23:45, Tom)

4. Economic War: Central Banking, Interest Rates, and Data Games

• The Machinery of Deception

  • The hosts discuss how manipulated jobs and inflation data are used to guide Federal Reserve policy and to influence voters:

    "They were overselling the jobs recovery in the run up to the election to try and keep Biden in office or pump up Harris. And all that did was then Powell kept saying, well, I don't have to cut interest rates." (46:26, Tom)

• Interest Rate Predictions and the New Environment

  • On rate cuts:

    "We're definitely into the next rate cutting cycle. The labor market is clearly not great. The credit markets are too tight. My own personal experience... the underwriters are working overtime every freaking day to deny people loans." (54:57, Tom)

• The Significance for Bitcoin and Financial Sovereignty

  • Market adaptability ties into the Bitcoin thesis:

    "In a world where central bankers are tripping over themselves to devalue their currency, Bitcoin wins." (00:07, Tom)

5. Homeownership, Fannie/Freddie, and the Middle Class Resurrection

• Relisting Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac

  • Tom breaks down Trump’s plan to take Fannie and Freddie out of government conservatorship, merging them, and relisting for public IPO:

    "Fannie and Freddie may be the most asymmetric trade since Bitcoin at $20. This is a $3.5 trillion company." (72:41, Tom)

  • The restoration of the 30-year mortgage as a tool for rebuilding the middle class is described as essential to reversing generational economic decline.

• Systemic Barriers

  • Critique of the regulatory regime that blocks credit access:

    "All these banking regulations were put in place... to make sure that the middle class didn't get access to the kind of consumer credit necessary to start rebuilding the country." (58:36, Tom)

6. Feudalism, Property Rights, and the Philosophy of Freedom

• Property Tax and Feudal Control

  • The discussion turns to property tax as a form of modern serfdom:

    "Property taxes are the original sin of government. You will never be free, folks. This is why the Bitcoiners are so right... it's the one area in our lives where we can say, I have full sovereignty over this asset." (85:00, Tom)

• Bitcoin Ideology Alignment

  • Frequent alignment with Bitcoin principles—self-sovereignty, decentralization, and individual agency.

7. Civilization, Leadership, and What’s Next

• A Call to Moral Action

  • The ever-present danger of becoming what we oppose:

    "What we don't want to do is go Full Fremen. We want to retain our humanity during the process... Y'all wanted to put us in camps over the COVID vaccine? You get to lose your job over cheering for Charlie Kirk being dead." (91:36, Tom)

• On Resilience and Patriotism

  • Marty on why he won’t flee:

    "Would you ever leave the country? I was like, no, no, this is my fight." (74:48, Marty)

• Closing Optimism

  • Despite tragedy, both agree a corner has been turned:

    "This week was terrible, but it seems like things are moving in the right direction in terms of resetting." (90:22, Marty)

  • Tom: "We will not live like this." (96:01)

Notable Quotes

• "We will not live like this."
  — Tom Luongo (05:38, 96:01)
  (Echoes throughout the episode as the central rallying cry.)

• "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing everyone he didn’t exist. At this moment, that’s the remnant of the British Empire."
  — Tom Luongo (26:06)

• "What we don't want to do is go Full Fremen. We want to retain our humanity during the process."
  — Tom Luongo (91:36)

• "Property taxes are the original sin of government. You will never be free, folks."
  — Tom Luongo (85:00)

• "If we lead, the world will follow us."
  — Tom Luongo (75:08)

Important Timestamps

• 00:07– Tom on global monetary insanity and Bitcoin’s bull case
• 01:07– Reaction and recalibration after Charlie Kirk’s assassination
• 05:35– Defining a positive ethos over mere opposition
• 11:19– Trump’s RICO investigations; legal vs. political time
• 23:45– How narrative control and misdirection shape events
• 26:06– British influence; caution on scapegoating
• 46:26– Economic manipulation: fake jobs numbers and Fed policy
• 54:57– The tightening of consumer credit, regulatory bottlenecks
• 61:39– The bullish case for US markets, homeownership strategies
• 72:41– Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac relisting as an asymmetric trade
• 85:00– Property tax and sovereignty philosophy
• 91:36– Maintaining humanity; consequences post-crisis
• 96:01– Resilience and rallying around the refusal to live under declining conditions

Tone & Language

• Largely conversational, sometimes confrontational, always passionate and uncompromising.
• “We will not live like this” is both a statement of resistance and a moral imperative, not merely a campaign slogan.
• Both Marty and Tom blend policy analysis with deeply personal anecdotes and cultural references (e.g., V for Vendetta, Babylon 5, Josie Wales).

Summary Takeaway

This episode frames the assassination of Charlie Kirk as a critical catalyst in a much larger process of civilizational recalibration. For Luongo and Bent, the event exposes the stakes of political and economic control, the depth of institutional rot, and sparks a national resolve: to move beyond mere opposition, to restore the dignity of the middle class, and to assert broad-based civilizational standards using all available tools—legal, financial, technological, and social. Through the lens of Bitcoin philosophy and American foundational principles, the hosts argue for courageous leadership and active engagement in rebuilding sovereign, humane, and prosperous communities.