Cocaine in the White House, Massive Free Speech Victory, plus Barbie Pushing CCP Propaganda & Target Relents on Mark Levin's New Book

Summary

Detailed Summary of "Cocaine in the White House, Massive Free Speech Victory, plus Barbie Pushing CCP Propaganda & Target Relents on Mark Levin's New Book"

Podcast: The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
Host/Author: Premiere Networks
Release Date: July 7, 2023

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1. Cocaine in the White House Scandal

Overview:
The episode kicks off with a shocking revelation about a bag of cocaine found in the West Wing of the White House. Host Ben Ferguson engages in a candid discussion with Senator Ted Cruz, dissecting the implications of this discovery and the apparent lack of transparency from the Biden administration.

Key Points & Discussions:

• Lack of Accountability:
  Senator Cruz criticizes the Biden administration for not addressing the issue publicly or committing to drug testing White House staff. He remarks,

  "Is the rule of law and order completely gone under this administration?" (02:00).

• Double Standards in Prosecution:
  The conversation highlights perceived double standards in how drug-related offenses are handled, especially concerning Hunter Biden. Cruz asserts,

  "Hunter Biden, we've got videos of him on crack cocaine and the DOJ won't prosecute it." (02:39).

• Investigation Flaws:
  Cruz questions the thoroughness of the investigation, noting the improbability of undetected cocaine presence in a highly secured area like the West Wing.

  "This administration is more than willing to politicize... we'll just never know who did it. Whoops." (02:39).

• Possible Internal Cover-Up:
  The discussion suggests an internal cover-up effort to protect senior officials, undermining public trust in the administration's integrity.

  "They don't want to know because it is exceptionally likely... it's someone who works in the White House." (07:36).

2. Massive Free Speech Victory: Court Blocks Biden Administration from Censoring Social Media

Overview:
A significant court ruling emerges as a victory for free speech, where a federal judge blocks the Biden administration from direct communication with social media companies to censor content. This legal decision marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing battle over digital censorship and free expression.

Key Points & Discussions:

• Court Ruling Details:
  Chief Judge Terry Doty of the Western District of Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction preventing Biden officials from pressuring social media platforms to suppress content. Cruz emphasizes,

  "This is a very important victory for free speech." (17:06).

• Scope of the Injunction:
  The injunction specifically targets efforts to censor political speech, allowing only necessary communications regarding criminal activities, national security threats, and public safety.

  "The injunction explicitly includes carve outs for communication with social media companies." (28:29).

• Case Background:
  The lawsuit was initiated by Missouri and Louisiana, alongside epidemiologists and social media commentators alleging suppression of their posts. Cruz highlights instances where White House officials demanded censorship:

  "Are you guys effing serious? I want an answer on what happened here, and I want it today." (25:10).

• Implications for Future Censorship Efforts:
  This ruling sets a precedent limiting governmental influence over private sector content moderation, reinforcing First Amendment protections.

  "If the government engages in significant encouragement to private actors to censor speech, that violates the First Amendment." (26:34).

3. Barbie Movie and CCP Propaganda

Overview:
The podcast delves into the Barbie movie's inclusion of the "nine-dash line" on its world map—a symbol of China's territorial claims over the South China Sea. This depiction has sparked accusations of Communist Party propaganda, leading to the movie's ban in Vietnam.

Key Points & Discussions:

• Controversial Map Usage:
  Senator Cruz points out the strategic inclusion of the nine-dash line in the Barbie movie's map,

  "It's a map of the world and has Asia... in the sea are the nine dashes that are exactly what the CCP wants to claim." (30:38).

• International Repercussions:
  Vietnam's official ban of the movie is cited as evidence of Hollywood's willingness to cater to Chinese interests for financial gains.

  "Vietnam officially banned the movie from Vietnam. They said this is Chinese Communist propaganda." (31:15).

• Hollywood's Compliance with CCP Demands:
  The discussion criticizes Hollywood for altering content to appease the Chinese market, undermining creative integrity and promoting authoritarian narratives.

  "It's tragic to see a movie aimed at young girls acting as a mouthpiece for Chinese communist propaganda." (33:37).

4. 'Sound of Freedom' Movie Success vs. Hollywood's Censorship

Overview:
Highlighting a triumphant moment for meaningful cinema, the episode covers the unprecedented success of "Sound of Freedom," a movie addressing child sex trafficking, which surpassed the blockbuster "Indiana Jones" over the July 4th weekend despite limited theater distribution.

Key Points & Discussions:

• Box Office Achievement:
  The film "Sound of Freedom," starring Jim Caviezel, outperformed "Indiana Jones" by securing the number one spot in theaters,

  "Sound of Freedom was number one over Indiana Jones." (34:50).

• Movie's Impact and Message:
  The true story of Tim Ballard's fight against child trafficking resonates deeply, contrasting sharply with Hollywood's current trend of producing what Cruz terms "propaganda."

  "It's a fantastic movie. It's inspiring... they don't want you to watch it." (37:45).

• Corporate Resistance vs. Grassroots Support:
  The episode underscores the film's success as a testament to public demand for genuine storytelling, encouraging conservatives and Christians to support such impactful movies.

  "If we succeed in these movies being successful, more of them are going to be made." (38:30).

• Broader Societal Issues:
  Cruz connects the movie's themes to real-world problems, citing alarming statistics on human trafficking growth linked to the Biden administration's border policies.

  "Mexican drug cartels made over $13 billion from human trafficking last year—a 2,600% increase." (40:13).

5. Target's Censorship of Mark Levin's New Book

Overview:
The podcast highlights a significant free speech victory where Target initially refused to carry Senator Mark Levin's new book, "The Democrat Party Hates America," citing concerns over offending liberals. However, public backlash forced the retailer to reverse its decision.

Key Points & Discussions:

• Initial Refusal and Backlash:
  Target's announcement not to stock Levin's book was met with widespread criticism from conservatives, leading to rapid changes in retail strategy.

  "Target would not sell Mark Levin's new book in stores. They were afraid of offending liberals." (46:47).

• Reversal and Public Support:
  Following intense backlash and consumer advocacy, Target reversed its decision, agreeing to carry the book, showcasing the power of unified consumer action.

  "Target realized we don't want to step in it again... they will be taking my new book in its stores." (47:35).

• Legislative Efforts Against Censorship:
  Cruz discusses his introduction of the Script Act, aiming to penalize studios that censor content to appease foreign governments, specifically China. Portions of the act were incorporated into the 2023 National Defense Authorization Bill,

  "The Pentagon issued guidelines pursuant to the legislation I wrote, making clear to studios... if you let the Chinese government censor your films, you're ineligible to use US Government assets." (43:44).

• Encouragement for Free Speech Advocacy:
  The episode concludes with a call to action, urging listeners to support retailers and platforms that uphold free speech and resist corporate censorship.

  "Every conservative, everyone who believes in free speech... should celebrate." (47:37).

6. Conclusion: Free Speech Victories Against Government and Big Business Censorship

Summary:
The episode wraps up by emphasizing the dual victories over governmental and corporate censorship—first through the court ruling restraining the Biden administration's influence over social media, and second through Target's capitulation to public demand for carrying conservative literature. These events are portrayed as significant steps forward in the fight for free speech and accountability in both government actions and corporate practices.

Final Thoughts:
Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz highlight the importance of these victories in setting precedents for future advocacy and the preservation of constitutional rights. They encourage listeners to remain vigilant and proactive in supporting genuine, uncensored content across all platforms.

"When we highlight what is real and what the facts are, that has enormous potency." (50:18).

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Note: Timestamps in brackets (MM:SS) refer to the approximate point in the transcript where the quote or discussion occurs.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz. We've got one heck of a show for you today. It deals with everything from China and the movie, the Barbie movie coming out. Plus, we've got another victory we want to talk about that deals with censorship. And then there's the big story, and that is one that deals with cocaine at the White House. Now, Senator, there's other big news that we're going to deal with, including a huge court victory against government censorship. But everyone is obsessed with the cocaine at the White House. So let me get your initial take to that one.

[B]

You know, I don't think Saturday Night Live could satirize the Biden White House worse than what has actually happened. Now, of course, for Saturday Night Live to satirize them, they'd have to be willing to actually make fun of Democrats. But listen, Biden ran promising to bring back dignity to the White House. In the last couple of weeks, we've had, number one, a biological man who identifies as a transgender woman go topless with his surgically constructed breast bouncing around on the South Lawn. That happened a couple of weeks ago. We had, a couple of days ago, Hunter Biden standing behind his parents on the balcony of the White House. By all appearances, stoned out of his mind. And then we now have had a bag of cocaine literally found in the West Wing of the frigging White House. The West Wing, by the way, is the working office of the White House. It's where the Oval Office is. It's where the Chief of Staff's office is. It's where the National Security Advisor's office is. It's where the senior White House staff works. And there's just a bag of white powder. Like, I don't know at this point. How do you even satirize it with topless transgender people running around and bags of cocaine in the White House? This is Joe Biden's administration.

[A]

The part that's also extremely shocking to me is the fact that the White House wouldn't comment on this at all. They wouldn't say if they're gonna drug test their staffers moving forward, and they wouldn't even say that they would hold the person accountable if they felt. Find out who brought in this cocaine. Is the rule of law and order completely gone under this administration? If someone brings cocaine into the White House and you won't publicly come out and state immediately, we are going to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law when we find. Not if. When we. Fine with that type of determination.

[B]

Look, it's worse than that. It's not only is there a double standard and they won't prosecute people who are violating the law. We know that. I mean, Hunter Biden, we've got videos of him on crack cocaine and the DOJ won't prosecute it. So we know that. But it's worse than that because it's a DOJ cover up, It's a Biden White House cover up. You know, we had the administration put out a statement. We probably will never know whose cocaine it was. Really? Really? Are you friggin telling me someone can leave a bag of something in the West Wing of the White House? If it were a bag of anthrax, would they be like, well, you know, we'll never know who left it. Oh well, and by the way, where this was located. So let me give you a little bit of the geography of the White House. Where this was located was by the entrance to the White House in the West Wing. So when you come to the West Wing for a meeting, you come in a door that is down on the ground level. And where you come in, off on your right there's a dining room. Off on your right is the situation Room. And it apparently is right somewhere in that entrance foyer is where this bag of cocaine was found. And it was found in a normal security sweep. Now, Kareen Jean Pierre has said, well, this is a heavily trafficked area of the White House. I have to say it is screamingly funny that she keeps using the word heavily trafficked. Heavily trafficked. Well, when you're trafficking in cocaine, that she may be speaking more literally than typical. There's an irony that Karine Jean Pierre may have accidentally spoken the truth from the podium of the White House. But listen, that is the entrance that senators go through. It's the entrance that cabinet members go through. It's the entrance that if you're going to meet someone senior in the White House, typically, if you're going to meet the President, that's the entrance you go through. I've gone through that, that entrance probably hundreds of times. What is bizarre is they say we can't figure out who it is. Now I will say something odd, which is there's lots of speculation on Twitter. Oh, a bag of cocaine in the White House. It's gotta be hunters. You know, my guess is it probably isn't hunters. I don't know that. Obviously we know that Hunter has a drug problem. We know that he has used cocaine and used crack cocaine in the past. But, but I doubt Hunter Biden is going in the West Wing all that often and going in that entrance all that often. I think it is in all likelihood someone who works in the Biden administration, some senior Biden official, which makes the COVID up all that the more astonishing. You're telling me, with the cameras they have there, with the Secret Service they have there, with the Marine detail they have there that nobody can figure out, hey, who left the bag of cocaine by the front door of the West Wing of the White House? I mean, that is. Or the side door. That's insane. And the only reason they would put out a statement saying we will never know who it was is the same reason why the DOJ and the FBI is engaged in a cover up of Hunter Biden's acts of criminality, of Joe Biden's acts of criminality, of the evidence of corruption. Sadly, this administration is more than willing to politicize. Look, it would be embarrassing if we discover that a senior White House aide is bringing cocaine into the West Wing to do Schedule 1. Serious drugs in the White House. And so their answer instead is, of course we're not going to prosecute it, we're not going to investigate it. And you know what? We'll just never know who did it. Whoops.

[A]

Oh, well, yeah, One of the other things that the talking point you mentioned, it was the fact they say this is a heavily trafficked area. The White House is not Disney World. It's not a Starbucks line at the airport. Okay. It's. This is the idea, this is highly traffic. Makes it sound like there's thousands and thousands of people walking through this area. You've been there, like you said, hundreds of times. I've had a blessed career to be able to go to the White House a significant number of times as well. I was there last time, the day of the State of the Union, and I was in this exact area where the cubbies are, where you put your phones before I went in the Oval Office to meet with President Trump. And this area, the idea that you can't find out who it is is a lie. The same way I would argue, Senator, that the idea that we still don't know who leaked, for example, the Roe v. Wade being overturned, is a lie. They know. I have no doubt in my mind then this is my opinion that they know exactly who brought this cocaine in. And I promise you, if it would have been anthrax or something like that, we would know who did it. They would have found him. There's no way you can tell me they can't figure this crime out.

[B]

So I actually don't know if they know who it is. I think they don't want to know. I think they are being willfully blind. I think they are putting their head in the sand like an ostrich and just saying, let's not figure it out. Let's just say, gosh, really difficult to figure out. And this is the sort of question we don't want an answer to. I also think it is a different scenario than the Supreme Court leak. Look, I think Chief Justice Roberts wants to know who leaked it. We've seen Justice Alito has said he thinks he knows who leaked it. But. But what I suspect happened there, and I don't know because the court has not given definitive answers, but what I suspect happened there is that they didn't run a very good investigation. I don't think it was because they didn't want to know the answer. I just think it's because they allowed the Marshal's office to lead that investigation. And the Marshal's office is not an investigative agency. It's not an agency that investigates crimes. It's part of the Marshal's office. You have the police officers of the court that are protecting against acts of violence, but they're not typically investigating crimes. They're not typically engaged in forensic analysis. And what I called for at the time is the Supreme Court, I believe, should have called in the FBI. The FBI has very extensive forensic capability. The reason the court did, didn't, I think, was because of separation of powers concerns. And there's a view within the judiciary that we're Article three, we're a separate branch of government. And asking Article two, asking the executive branch to assist, is intruding in our internal business. I get that. But I think the better decision would have been for the Chief justice to instruct the Marshal's office to work with the FBI and get their forensic capability to find out who leaked. And so I think the motivation is different. I think with the Supreme Court leak, it wasn't an effort to cover it up. It was rather putting institutional concerns above what I think was the incredibly important need to expose and punish the leaker. Uh, in the White House, on the other hand, I think it is a flat out cover up. I think they do not want to know because it is exceptionally likely. It is, it is, I think, close to 100% that it is someone who works in the White House. Look, I suppose, is it possible that some random visitor to the White House left a bag of cocaine? I guess theoretically. So maybe it's not 100%. But what are the odds some guy who has a meeting with, let's say, the chief of staff of the White House just happens to bring a bag of cocaine with them and happens to leave it in the foyer? I mean, that just, that strikes me as very unlikely. I think it is much more likely. This is someone that comes in and out of that building every day. And in that instance, whoever it is is going to be really embarrassing for the Biden White House. And so it's much easier from a political damage control perspective to say, oh, we can't figure it out. Oh well, because, boy, we really don't want to know the answer to that.

[A]

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[B]

Well, if it's up to the Biden White House, it will go away. I expect that the House of Representatives will try to do some oversight on this. I also expect that the Biden White House will, will, will simply erect a wall around the White House and will stonewall. And we've seen DOJ stonewall. We've seen the FBI stonewall. I expect that the Secret Service will stonewall on this. And so the chances that Senate Democrats want to get to the bottom of this are zero. Why? Because they know that it is very likely a senior official in the Biden White House. It could conceivably be Hunter Biden. There is at least one known cocaine user who frequents the White House. But as I said, generally you would assume that Hunter Biden is in the residence of the White House rather than entering through the business interests of the West Wing. But Senate Democrats do not want to know the answer because I think they are much more interested in political damage control than actually getting to the bottom. You are right. The West Wing of the White House is a crime scene right now. Any place else, if police discover a bag of cocaine, the place they discover it, they call a crime scene and they investigate whose cocaine is this? And you know what? There are thousands of people in jail right now for possessing a bag of cocaine just like the one found in the West Wing of the White House. And so there's a double standard of justice. We talked about this with a Hunter Biden investigation that if you're some poor schmo who did crack cocaine, you could serve hard time. But if you're connected to Joe Biden and this White House, you get special treatment. You get a cover up from this administration.

[A]

Yeah, it's sad to see the White House turn into this sideshow as you described it earlier with this, what they've done to this White House is sad. It's supposed to be a place of honor and respect. It's supposed to be a place of dignity that we're supposed to be proud of. And certainly you can't say that right now with this administration the way that they're treating it. I want to move to also another.

[B]

Big, I got to say, comparatively. Comparatively Bill Clinton has got to be looking at this, going, wow, I'm getting out of Jake. Yeah. I mean, Bill Clinton's like, boy, I got criticism for what I did in the West Wing of the White House. The Bidens are making Bill Clinton look like an amateur.

[A]

Yeah. It only takes one more bigger idiot to make you look good. Right. That's all you can say about that one. I want to move to another story. And, Senator, this could have massive implications for the election.

[B]

By the way, Ben, for the record, let's not have that be the slogan of this podcast, although our critics would suggest that's already our slogan.

[A]

Yeah, there you go. Fair enough. Fair enough. We've got a big story that deals. We've got a big story that's going to deal. That could have huge ramifications for the election coming up. And it's a big court victory. This is something that verdict listeners are going to want to know about because it's not being covered. There was a huge court victory against government censorship. A federal judge has blocked the Biden administration officials from actually communicating directly with social media companies to silence and censor people, ideas and stories. This judge has now ordered Biden officials to, quote, limit their contact with social media companies. Ruling says that Biden administration's policing of social media is likely a violation of people's First Amendment. Now, so people understand the Biden administration has been in regular contact, sometimes daily, multiple times a week. And if you say something they don't like, whether it was during the time of COVID or other issues they don't like, they could just connect with them and say, hey, silence that person. Shut that person's account down. Get that person kicked off your platform. And this judge has finally said, you can't do that.

[B]

Well, that's exactly right. And, you know, this is a topic we're going to do a deep dive into. And this is one of the reasons I think people listen to verdict, because we cover topics that the corporate media won't cover and they won't cover in any substance. This is a very important decision. This is a very important victory for free speech. And the corporate media doesn't want you to know about it. This is a ruling that came down on July 4th on Independence Day, and it came down from Chief Judge Terry Doty of the Western District of Louisiana, who's a federal district judge. And he issued a preliminary injunction that restricts the Biden administration from communicating with social media platforms in order to ask them to remove or suppress content containing protected speech. In other words, to Stop the Biden administration from. From collaborating with Big Tech to censor you. Now, this opinion is 155 pages long. It is a serious, scholarly opinion. It is a incredibly detailed opinion. This is a case that was brought against the Biden administration by the state of Missouri and the state of Louisiana. And it was also brought by two epidemiologists, Jay Bhattacharya and Martin Kulldorf, and four other social media commentators who allege that social media firms remove their posts. And this injunction focuses on repeatedly. It is at the preliminary injunction stage. So what the court concluded, in order to grant a preliminary injunction, the district court has to find that the plaintiffs are likely to prevail on the merits of their claims. So that's what the district court concluded that they are likely to win to prove in court that the Biden administration violated the First Amendment and violated the free speech rights of Americans. That's a big deal. And they walk through carefully what was going on. It. It documents instances where White House officials explicitly demanded censorship, including in some cases, demanding that social media delete the accounts of private Americans, including Tomi Lahren, including Tucker Carlson, including Alex Berenson. At one point, a White House official expressed frustration with Facebook's lack of censorship of what they called vaccine disinformation, writing in an email, and I'm quoting, are you guys effing serious? And they did not abbreviate effing. I want an answer on what happened here, and I want it today. Now, let's be clear that that is not an email of someone saying, gosh, would you mind looking at this? Hey, this is a concern. That is the kind of communication we saw Hunter Biden give to the Chinese official. I want an answer, and I want it by tonight. It's the kind of answer you give someone who works for you that you have power over. The opinion also documents Facebook's collusion with the CDC to censor Covid related claims. This included a scheme where Facebook would email an official of the cdc, quote, to determine whether statements made on Facebook were true or false. And if the CDC said this statement is false, Facebook, Facebook would remove the, quote, false statement. So, for example, the CDC rated as false the claim that COVID 19 vaccines weaken the immune system. Now, I would say as we sit here right now in 2023, that claim has not 100% been proven true, but there's a lot of evidence to think it's true. And at a minimum, it is not objectively false, proven to be such so that the government can silence you from saying to the contrary. Likewise, the opinion discusses the FBI's efforts through what it called the Foreign Influence Tax Task Force, to quote, prime technology companies about possible hack and dump operations led by foreign state actors. And Yoel Roth, who was a Twitter executive, testified that during the joint industry FBI meetings, he learned that, quote, there were rumors that a hack and leak operation would involve Hunter Biden. And as we know, social media right before the 2020 election suppressed the story that broke about Hunter Biden's laptop. Now, here's the critical thing. The FBI at the time knew that Hunter Biden's laptop was not Russian disinformation because the agency was in possession of the laptop as of December of 2019. So a year earlier, in addition, another office, what's called the Global Engagement center, it's part of the State Department. It was an initiative that emerged From Executive Order 13584 issued by Obama, which established the State Department's center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications. Ultimately, another executive order, Executive Order 13721, again issued by Obama, transformed the CSCC into the Global Engagement Center. And the center is designed to, quote, direct, lead, synchronize, integrate and coordinate U.S. efforts to recognize, understand, expose and counter foreign state and non state propaganda and disinformation aimed at undermining the policy, security or stability of the United States. But you know what they didn't do? They didn't focus on foreign actors. They focused on, repeatedly, Americans whose speech they were trying to silence. And so what the district court did is it issued an injunction against multiple different parts of the Biden administration to stop directing social media to censor free speech postings from American citizens. And let me read you a portion of it. Defendants use meetings and communications with social media companies to pressure these companies to take down, reduce and suppress the free speech of American citizens. They flagged posts and provided information on the type of posts they wanted suppressed. They also followed up with directives to the social media companies to provide them with information as to the action the company had taken with regard to the flag post. This seemingly unrelented pressure by defendants had the intended result of suppressing millions of protected free speech postings by American citizens. If ever there were a case where the, quote, significant encouragement theory should apply, this is it. And that's a theory that explains that when the government engages in significant encouragement to private actors to censor speech, that the government is liable for violating the First Amendment. And, and here's what the court wrote in conclusion. The evidence produced thus far depicts an Almost dystopian scenario. During the COVID 19 pandemic, a period best categorized by widespread doubt and uncertainty, the United States government seemed to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian Ministry of Truth.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

That's a federal court in an order against the Biden administration. The Biden administration is freaking out about this.

[A]

You hear the court put it that way. And this is where I smile, because this is such a significant win for freedom of speech. And also not having a government like you see that influences and runs media in places like Russia and China and Venezuela and Cuba, and the idea that you can silence your political opposition, which is exactly what the government has been doing clearly under the Biden administration. This important day now, Senator, this is also gonna have a big impact, I think, on this election cycle coming up, because this is what they were able to do in the last election cycle, in the presidential election cycle, which was to say, okay, we're gonna really start ratcheting up and silencing people and shutting down their reach. And Democrats realized their secret weapon was just pick up the phone and say, I am the government. Yes, you're the private sector. I need you to shut down these people. And even some of the accounts they were shutting down were people that had 500, 800 followers. And then they said something that went viral and they're like, yeah, we don't, like, we don't even know who this person is. We don't even know what they're saying. They had a treat that went viral. We don't like it. Therefore shut down their account. And they did it well.

[B]

And it's even worse than that. So these big tech companies are staffed in significant parts by alums from the federal government, from the Obama administration, from the Biden administration. You've got Yoel Roth, who claimed that the Trump administration were, quote, literal Nazis. So these are hardcore radical leftists. They're already eager to use their monopoly power to silence speech, but the government is urging them. Any speech they dislike, they were urging them to silence. And I want to make an important clarification because to the extent you're seeing discussion of this in the corporate media, and the discussion is quite limited, but to the extent you see it, you're seeing histrionic reaction from Democrats and corporate media analysts saying, well, how can this be? That the government is prohibited from communicating? This is a danger to our country. Let's be clear. The injunction explicitly includes carve outs for communication with social media companies. That is permissible, including notifying companies about criminal activities, notifying Social media companies about national security threats and notifying them about threats to public safety. And also speech that is not protected by the First Amendment is expressly exempted from the injunction. So this injunction is narrowed to Biden administration. You cannot ask social media companies to censor political speech because you disagree with it and dislike it. That is not how the First Amendment operates. And I guarantee you if you are watching a Democrat or a corporate media analyst talk about this, they're going to suggest that the government can no longer, longer talk to the social media companies at all. That is categorically false.

[A]

Yeah. And look, you know, some of them are going to try to still keep the back channels going and they're going to try to get around this. And that's the question is, will there be enforcement from this? And I hope that there certainly is. I want to tell you about our friends at Chalk. If you're a guy and you're sick and tired of feeling like you are losing your strength and your vitality and weakness and complacency is setting in, you just don't feel like yourself. You're tired, you're fatigued, you want to work out, you want to be active, but it's just not like it used to be. Then you need to check out chalk. Chalk is here to help real men, just like you, take back your right to probably maximize your masculinity by boosting testosterone levels up to 20% over 90 days. Yeah, you heard me right. Boost your testosterone levels up to 20% over 90 days. Now, I've been taking chalk, choq.com, the male vitality stack now for several months. It works. It's manufactured right here in the US Of A. Chalk's natural herbal supplements are clinically proven to have game changing effects on your energy, your focus, your mood. So if you are tired of weakness and complacency and you're ready to get back what you used to feel like with strength and vitality, check out chalk choq.com that's choq.com use the promo code Ben. You're going to get 35 off any chalk subscription for life. Choq.com use the promo code BEN. 35 off. And boost your testosterone levels up 20% over 90 days. Center. I want to also ask you about another big issue and this deals with China. This is not a normal conversation that you would think you and I would be having. There's a movie that's out, the Barbie movie, Barbie and Ken. It is now making waves for a map in that movie. And it's basically so Barbie and the people that made the movie could get it, make a bunch of money in China by making them happy in Beijing. Explain this insane story.

[B]

Well, sure, Barbie is an upcoming summer blockbuster targeting obviously young girls, teenage girls who are a huge movie going audience. And, and there's a scene in the movie Barbie where Barbie is, is in front of a map of the world. And it's a cartoon map. It's not a, it's not a very detailed map. So for example, it has drawn out one of the places on the map is Asia. So it's a map of the world and has Asia. But off to the east of Asia, they have lines drawn in the South China Sea and it's called the nine dash line. And the nine dash line is a line that the Communist Party of China is pushing out because they are claiming that China has sovereignty over virtually the entirety of the South China Sea. And that is contrary to international law. The South China Sea. The claim is disputed by Vietnam, by Malaysia, by Indonesia, by Brunei, by the Philippines and Taiwan. And in fact, an international tribunal at the Hague found the Chinese Communist Party's map is illegal. In other words, that their claims of sovereignty, they're trying to steal control over international waters and waters that other nations have sovereignty. And it's a power grab. And what's bizarre, you have this cartoon map with no specificity. Asia is one block on it, and yet there in the sea are the nine dashes that are exactly what the CCP wants to claim. The South China Sea is theirs. And in response to this, the country of Vietnam officially banned the movie from Vietnam. They said this is Chinese Communist propaganda. And it is a sad pattern. We've seen an ongoing pattern of Hollywood movies kowtowing to the Chinese Communists and at times censoring their movies, but at times doing what they're doing here, which is just happily repeating CCP propaganda because they want to sell the movie in China and they recognize that, that repeating what makes the Chinese Communist Party and the government happy increases the chances that the government will allow the movie to be sold in China. But I gotta say, it is shameful to see Hollywood acting as a mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist. You know, when I saw this, I tweeted out, I said, well, you know, I, I guess Barbie is made in China and a vast number of the Barbie dolls sold in America are in fact manufactured in China. But it is sad to see a movie aimed at young girls is, is acting as the mouthpiece for Chinese communist propaganda.

[A]

It's not just that Too. There's also problems here in the US there's an amazing movie that you just went to that talks about human trafficking and children that are being sex trafficked and what a problem it is in the world. It actually was the number one movie over the July 4th weekend, beating out Indiana Jones, which is incredible. And it was actually in half the number of theaters apparently as Indiana Jones. And this is what's encouraging to me, senators, the fact that it seems like as much as they're trying to force this propaganda, whether it be Barbie, whether it be Target, whether it be Disney, I mean, they had massive layoffs the other day with talent at espn. A lot of people believe this is because of Disney and espn. People just had enough of their woke propaganda and their obsession with Black Lives Matter propaganda on ESPN day and night for several years and people just said, I'm done with you. And now we're seeing that conservatives are starting to fight back with their dollars not spending them places. But also this movie that just came out, that is, that is dealing with a tough issue, an important issue, goes to number one with half of, of the, of the distribution in theaters as the big Hollywood movie. You know, with Indiana Jones.

[B]

Yeah, that's exactly right. And so this movie, Sound of Freedom, I actually, on July 3rd, I took my mom to see it and, and my mom loves movies, so do I. So the two of us went to see it. It's a fantastic movie. Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in the, in the Passion of the Christ, is a incredibly talented actor. He plays the lead. He plays Tim Ballard. So this is a true story. Tim Ballard was a DHS Department of Homeland Security agent who was working fighting child trafficking. And he saw the horrific evils of child sex trafficking. There is a massive multi billion dollar business of kidnapping and selling children for sex trafficking. And it is horrific, it is evil. And the true story, Tim Ballard ended up actually leaving his job and going down to Latin America to rescue over 100 kids who had been kidnapped by child sex traffickers. And it's a true story. And I gotta tell you, I met Tim Ballard. Jim Caviezel came by my office a couple of weeks ago. We talked about the movie and let me encourage everyone go watch this movie. It's inspiring. I mean, it's an amazing true story. So much of what comes out of Hollywood is garbage today. It's propaganda. This is a true story about fighting. Look, you can disagree about all sorts of political issues, but the sick predators who engage in sexual assault of little kids and sell little children to pedophiles. I worked a lot of years in law enforcement. I dealt with a lot of horrible crimes. I dealt with murders. I dealt with all sorts of crimes. The ones that always got me the most upset, the most angry are the bastards that hurt kids. I think there is a special circle of hell devoted to people who hurt kids. And the corporate media and most of Hollywood, they didn't want this movie made. They don't want anyone to know about it. It gets no press. In fact, when I met with Jim Caviezel, the Houston Chronicle wrote a hit piece saying, oh, Jim Caviezel is this crazy conspiracy theorist guy. Without talking about the movie, without talking about the horrors of child sex trafficking. Instead, they just wanted to paint it as a tinfoil hat. Crazy thing. This is a true story and you are right. On July 4th, Sound of Freedom was the number one box office movie in the country. It be beat Indiana Jones. Sound of Freedom was on just over 2,000 screens. Indiana Jones was on over 4,000 screens. And nevertheless, Sound of Freedom was number one. I want to encourage everyone to go watch it, but it's a sign of just how messed up Hollywood is that they don't want you to watch it.

[A]

Yeah. And they don't want to talk about. They're hoping that this weekend it dies, which, as you know, we've got a lot of verdict listeners that want that may not even know this movie exists. It's a movie you need to go see and you need to go see it this weekend. And the reason why is because after last weekend, there are some theaters that will pick up this movie. And if more people go this weekend, more theaters will pick it up next week because they think they're missing out on profits. That's why it's so important. Don't wait for it to come out. This is a movie that conservatives and Christians should support. This is put your money where your mouth is and, and go out there. Because if we succeed in these movies being successful, Senator, more of them are going to be made, which is the best part of all.

[B]

Well, and Ben, I'll tell you when we finished watching the movie on the afternoon of July 3rd, at the end of the movie, the entire theater burst out in applause. When's the last time you were at a movie where that happened? Yeah, I mean, it is uplifting. It's horrifying. I mean, the evil of it is horrifying. But it also is a demonstration that you can go and you can fight against this evil and you can prevail. And that's it's important for people to understand. People don't like to talk about modern day slavery. And sadly, under the Biden administration, with their open borders at the southern border, human trafficking has exploded. The results of open borders. I'll give you an amazing statistic we've talked about on verdict before. This statistic is from the New York Times. In 2018, the Mexican drug cartels made in revenue from human trafficking roughly $500 million. Last year they made over $13 billion from human trafficking. That is a 2,600% increase. This is evil and it is modern day slavery. Now that being said, as bad as Hollywood is, as much as they don't want you to hear and watch movies that, that expose things like this, as much as they're willing to kowtow to communist China, we did have a significant victory recently, which is the pattern of Hollywood censoring for China has been an ongoing pattern and, and I've been calling it out for a long time. So for example, the movie Top Gun, Maverick. You remember the first movie Top Gun?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Maverick had on the back of his, his jacket a series of patches of different flags. And two of the flags that were on the back of his jacket were the flag of Japan and the flag of Taiwan. Well, the Chinese communists don't like Japan and they hate, they loathe Taiwan. And so the movie Top Gun, Maverick, the sequel, they edited those patches out. They just made them sort of random patterns that didn't correspond to any country because they didn't want to offend the Chinese Communist party by referring to Japan or Taiwan. And I called him out, I said, really? Are you serious? Are you telling me that Maverick is afraid of the Chinese communists? I mean, it was insane. And a bit of good news actually. The studio ended up putting them back. So when the movie was released, they had the patches back and there was enough criticism, they got embarrassed. Another example, Hollywood, the movie Bohemian Rhapsody. It's another great movie. It's a biopic of Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen. The studio that produced it edited out scenes that showed that Freddie Mercury was gay because the Chinese communists didn't want to acknowledge that Freddie Mercury was gay. Now Ben, how the hell do you tell Freddie Mercury's story without acknowledging he was gay? It was a pretty damn important part of his life. And you know, Hollywood is always happy to virtue signal about how woke they are unless they're trying to make millions of dollars from China, in which case they're like, nope, edit it out. Guess what? Freddie Mercury no longer gay. Let's Just take it out. It was embarrassing. It was wrong. And so I introduced legislation called the Script Act. And what the Script act said is that if a Chinese studio, sorry, if an American studio engages in censorship at the behest of the Chinese government or in order to please the Chinese government, then they are not eligible to use US Government assets. So there are lots of movies where movie studios use assets of the US Government. Think something like Top Gun where they're using fighter jets or they're using ships or they're using tanks or they're using Humvees, or think, you know, a movie where you're down on the border, you're down fighting drugs and you're up in a Blackhawk helicopter. There are all sorts of instances where the US Government allows Hollywood to use their assets to film great action movies. The Script act says, okay, if you're going to let the Chinese Communist government censor your films, you can't use US Government assets to do it. And the Script Act, I introduced it, I fought for it. I'll tell you, the Democrats resisted it mightily that Hollywood supports the Democrats. Significantly. We had a huge battle back and forth. Ultimately, the full Script act didn't pass. But major portions of the Script act passed in the fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Bill. And in the past week the Pentagon issued their guidance and guidelines pursuant to the legislation that I wrote, making clear to studios, if you let the Chinese government censor your movies, you're ineligible to use US Government assets. And hopefully.

[A]

Awesome.

[B]

It will be a major incentive to stop this garbage, to stop Hollywood from kowtowing to the Chinese Communist.

[A]

You mentioned victories and there's one more that deals with a dear friend of ours in a book that's coming out. I'm going to tell you about that in a second. But let me tell you real quick about Patriot Mobile. We have talked so much about woke corporations that come after your values. And why do you want. Why would you give them your money? Right. There's one category that you just hadn't had an option for years and that is with your cell phone. The big three mobile companies out there, they've been dumping millions of dollars into leftist causes year after year. Many of the big mobile companies out there have actually given massive donations to Planned Parenthood. Well, now you've got an option. Patriot Mobile. They are America's only Christian conservative wireless provider offering dependable nationwide coverage on all three major networks. So you get the best possible service in your area without the woke propaganda pushed by leftists working hard to destroy this country. Now when you switch to Patriot Mobile every month, a portion of your bill at no extra charge u is going to be used to support free speech and religious freedom. Going to be there to use to support the sanctity of life and adoptions. They're also going to support the second amendment, our military, our veterans, our first responders. This is what they do every month when you pay your bill. So if you want to stand with a company that stands with your values and you want to fight back every time you use your phone, switch to Patriot Mobile. You can keep your same cell phone number if you want to and your same cell phone that you have in your hand. Call them 878-PATRIOT. That's 878-PATRIOT 878-PATRIOT or [e-mail] Verdict Use the promo code VERDICT and you'll get the best deals plus free activation of the year. That's Patriot Mobile.com Verdict There's a one more good news story and this one for me is just makes me happy. It's a dear friend of mine and a dear friend of yours. Mark Levin has his new book that was is coming out soon. And it came out that Target had said they would not sell Mark Levin's new book in stores. They were apparently afraid that they were going to offend liberals, so they were not going to carry it. Now Mark Levin, pretty much everything he touches in the book world becomes the New York Times bestseller. This is another example of why I'm not going to give a damn dime of my money to Target. But there was so much backlash so quickly that Target realized we don't want to step in it again. Right after what they just did with all of their their activist clothing and everything they were doing binding and tucking outfits with with their LGBTQ Gay Pride month that they now have reverse course. And this is proof that when we get together and focus, we can win some of these battles.

[B]

Well, that's exactly right. This is a big victory again for free speech against censorship. In this case, censorship from big business. Mark Levin, who is a dear friend of mine, a dear friend of yours. He is the great one. And that is a title that is fully earned. It is not hyperbole to say I wouldn't be in the US Senate without Mark Levin. When I was at 2% and was just getting started, Mark had me on my show over and over and over again and helped me get my message out to millions of Texans. Help me prevail. By the way, another guy named Ben Ferguson, who also hosted a major show had me on repeatedly. And so I'm grateful to the both of you. And I gotta say, Democrats are still pissed at both of you.

[A]

Badge of honor, my impact.

[B]

You did there.

[A]

Badge of honor.

[B]

But Mark, you're right. Every book he writes sells a gazillion copies. His books are fantastic. His latest book, Mark is someone who's very subtle. He has difficulty speaking clearly. He has difficulty saying what he really believes. So his title, with all of the understatement that has made Mark famous, the title of the book is the Democrat Party Hates America. Well, that you know, I haven't read Mark's book yet. It's coming out shortly. But I suspect he makes a compelling case for the title. But Mark tweeted out on July 5, Target will not carry the Democrat Party hates America because it might offend Democrats. Pathetic. You can go to Amazon.com and order directly without going through Democrat party corporatists. And I want to thank Barnes and Nobles, Walmart and Books a million for carrying the book. Now, a lot of conservatives spoke out against this. I spoke out. I retweeted Mark. And here's what I said. I said not to worry. Target has built up so much goodwill with conservatives that I'm sure they won't mind. And then I said, and bias book because I'm sure it's a fantastic book. Well, here's the good news. If you feel like all of corporate America is a disaster, well, Mark tweeted out on July 6. A day later, Target just informed my publisher that is reversed course and will be taking my new book in its stores upon its release. You folks are an immense force for free speech and market capitalism. And conservative authors and audiences everywhere will benefit from your patriotism. I could not be more proud of you, not only for how this specific case turned out, as there will undoubtedly be more of this, but because you've made it clear that you've had enough and will exercise your enormous power. The silent majority is silent no longer. I'll more fully discuss this on radio. God bless and I thank and salute you all. That is awesome. And every conservative, everyone who believes in free speech, everyone who doesn't want to see corporate America silence views they disagree with should celebrate. We started this pod by talking about a victory for free speech in the courtroom. And we're ending the pod by talking about a victory for free speech against big business. In both instances, there is a power to truth. There is a power to highlighting what is real and what the facts are. And when we do so, that has enormous potency.

[A]

Amen to that. Don't forget, you can listen to the show Monday, Wednesday and Fridays wherever you get your podcast. If you're listening on Apple, hit that follow button. You will never miss an episode. Hit that like button or subscribe button if you're on other platforms and please share this episode. On social media, you can hit that little forward button, that little arrow in the corner up in the right depending on what platform you're on down at the bottom. And you can put it up on social media, wherever you are on social media and write us a five star review. It helps us reach more people on the charts and that's really important. And don't forget, we do this every week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So make sure you listen each and every day. It's always a pleasure sender. And again, don't forget, go out there and see that amazing movie this week and support a movie that's important to this country. This is a huge victory and it's going to inspire others to make great movies. So make sure you're part of that as well. And we'll see you back here in a couple days.