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Ben Ferguson
Welcome. It is verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. Obviously many of you are going to be on the road as you're listening to this. Be safe with your family over Thanksgiving. And there is some good news. There are is a ceasefire that has been announced. Israel has approved a ceasefire with Hamas. We're being told that 50 hostages are set to be released. Senator, this is obviously a significant movement. They're saying it would be a five day ceasefire. Tell us everything that you know.
Ted Cruz
Well, the Israeli cabinet announced this yesterday and it is a deal that they have negotiated with Hamas that Hamas has committed to releasing 50 hostages, women and children, Israelis that they captured. And that is that, that's reason to celebrate. I have to tell you, I have sat down with with multiple family members of hostages who were taken in Israel and it is truly horrific. Over 200 hostages were taken and every one of them right now is pr that their loved ones, that their wives, their mothers, their daughters, their children are among the 50 that are set to be released. That is a big deal. Now the Israeli war cabinet debated for five hours about whether to do this. And the reason they debated for five hours is anytime that you are negotiating in exchange for hostages, you are giving up significant things. And that there are serious downsides to this deal. But the Israeli government has decided it's in their interest to make this deal. The downsides are as follows. Number one, in exchange for the 50 hostages being released, Israel has apparently committed to releasing 150 Palestinians that are in jail. And according to the terms of the agreement, the Palestinians being released are also women and children. Now on the face of it, Israel doesn't take hostages. So these are not civilians that were taken as hostages, but rather they are criminals who were arrested for committing crimes and presumably crimes directly related to terrorism. And so even though they are described as children, we have not as of yet seen the list of the 150 Palestinians to be released. And Hamas with regularity uses teenagers, uses 16, 17 year olds to commit acts of terrorism. So it is entirely possible that among those hundred and fifty being released are a number of people who have been terrorists and who upon being released will return to being terrorists. Fighting with Hamas. We don't know that for sure, but that is a very likely risk. In addition, under the terms of the agreement, Israel is engaging in a four day pause in fighting in Gaza. And so it is stopping. Israel has been making major advances in Gaza, working to eliminate Hamas. The four day pause is going to give Hamas time to restock, time to rebuild, time to get Stronger. And as a component of this deal, Israel agreed to allow roughly 300 aid trucks per day into Gaza from Egypt. Now, among included in those aid trucks will be fuel trucks, and that fuel will be a significant benefit for Hamas. Hamas. Right now, many of the Hamas terrorists are hiding in tunnels in Gaza, and those tunnels are kept lighted and kept ventilated using generators. And so they need the fuel to stay in the tunnels to evade capture, to evade being taken out by the Israeli military. And so allowing that much fuel to flow into Gaza enables Hamas to be stronger. And so the consequence of this is it is going to be more difficult to follow through on Israel's stated commitment, a commitment that I believe is critical that they follow through on to utterly eliminate Hamas, because Hamas will become stronger. But that being said, 50 hostages coming home is a big, big deal. And so we should celebrate 50 hostages coming home.
Ben Ferguson
When you talk about what this means for the future, there's going to be some people that are going to be very concerned over, okay, does this incentivize terrorist organizations, not just Hamas, but others, to start taking hostages? Because then you can use them to your advantage in the future when, you know, we've had a quote, unquote policy if we do not negotiate with hostages and with terrorists. Yet clearly this administration, the Biden administration, has done that. We saw it with Iran. We've also seen it with what happened in Russia, for example, when we decided that we would get back a NBA player but leave another man over in Russia in that trade for the merchant of death. This concerns me, obviously, from that perspective, from a national security standpoint for Americans. Your reaction from that perspective.
Ted Cruz
So look, of course it incentivizes the taking of hostages. And one of the tragedies, this is what happens when terrorists take hostages, is that it forces individuals and families. It forces countries to make bad decisions and to make sometimes terrible deals. Now, sometimes the deals are really terrible, such as the Biden administration giving $6 billion for five American hostages, basically setting a bounty of $1.2 billion per American you take hostage. We don't know if among these 50 hostages being released, if any of them are Americans. We do know that Hamas on October 7th and in the aftermath of it, murdered 31Americans. We know roughly a dozen Americans are held hostage. We don't know if any of these hostages being released are Americans. But yes, and I will say, look, Israel has been in this situation before when you are fighting terrorists and they're taking hostages, Israel is engaged in hostage negotiations. Israel is engaged in prisoner exchanges before and then that's part of being a nation at war. But I'm sure it is. Why the Israeli War cabinet debated and debated for five hours, and I'm sure this was not an easy decision. And it was not an easy decision because it does incentivize the taking of hostages. In terms of the war cabinet, only three members of the war cabinet voted no. They were all ministers of the Jewish Power Party, which is in Israeli politics. On the far right, there were another three ministers of the Religious Zionist Party who before the meeting said they were going to vote no. And they changed their position after hearing from the heads of the security services who recommended approving the deal. And I know everyone in the Israeli government wrestled with this because as I said, this will make Hamas stronger. That is a bad thing. But when 50 women and children come home and hug their moms and dads and hug their brothers and sisters and hug their husbands, that is an incredible thing and that is worth celebrating. Now, at the same time, while we are celebrating the return of 50 hostages, we need to remember that there are between 150 and 200 additional hostages that are still being held. And Prime Minister Netanyahu has said that if Hamas continues releasing hostages, that he will extend the pause in the invasion of Gaza and he will extend it at a rate of 10 hostages per day so Hamas can buy additional time by releasing hostages. And, and there's a trade off. That's a horrible trade off. But, but it's worth remembering, Ben. Israel laid out two objectives in, in the days immediately following October 7th. Number one was get the hostages back, get them home. And, and this accomplishes a significant step towards that. There are still far too many hostages, but 50 hostages coming home is a major step forward. But secondly, Israel pledged to utterly and completely eliminate Hamas. That was the right thing to do. And I will say I very much hope that as this deal goes into effect, that we know we will see the global community and all of the left and all of the global press and all of the woke press leaning on Israel not to resume the invasion of Gaza, not to resume trying to take out Hamas. And, and, and I very much fear the Biden White House will, will be the loudest among those voices saying, okay, enough, don't go after Hamas anymore. And I think it will be incumbent on all of us to say once the four day agreed period is over, once Hamas has stopped releasing hostages, Israel needs to finish the task it set out of eliminating Hamas.
Ben Ferguson
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Ted Cruz
So on the second point, we don't have a firm number. We know 31Americans were killed. We believe roughly a dozen Americans were taken hostage. To date, four hostages have been released. Two of them were Americans, two of them were Israelis. So we assume there are about 10American hostages still in captivity. Some of them may be killed. We don't know the status of them and we don't have an exact count, but. But it is in, it is in the range of 10American hostages and two, two who have already been released and 31 who were murdered on October 7th.
Ben Ferguson
Well, I want to ask you also about some of the videos that have been coming out and I think it's really important that we highlight this because so many senator in the media have been refusing to talk about this. And that is the extensive tunnel system that now clearly is under the hospital in Gaza. And also now we know that some of these hostages were taken to that hospital after they were taken hostage. It is very clear. It's obvious that this hospital in, in Gaza that everyone had heard about, that apparently Israel bombed, which didn't actually happen, is clearly been used, in essence, like a base for Hamas, a human shield for Hamas. And the tunnel system which they have now been able to find that is going in and out of that hospital is incredibly an intensive underground network. And some of this fuel, like you mentioned, goes directly to turning those lights on and the ventilation of that tunnel system, which Israel has found and is obviously trying to get rid of.
Ted Cruz
That is exactly right. And listen, this has been a point that has been true for a long time. In fact, nine years ago in 2014, I wrote an op ed that was entitled A Tale of Two Hospitals, One in Israel, One in Gaza. And I'll read you the beginning of that op ed I wrote on July 30th of 2014. If you want to judge a nation, look at how it treats its most vulnerable civilians. Hospitals are a good place to start. Al Shifa, the largest hospital in Gaza, is housed in a converted British army barracks. Some 126 miles north is Israel's Ziv Medical Medical center in Zafat. Hamas, which controls Gaza, is using the civilian population as human shields. The terrorist group has placed its missiles in schools and mosques, and even more deplorably, burrowed its command center underneath the Al Shifa hospital. Hamas's activities are taking place in plain sight. Just two weeks ago, and mind you, this was back in 2014, the Washington Post described Al Shifa as a, quote, de facto headquarters for Hamas leaders. These terrorist facilities are, of course, well known not only to the foreign journalists who interview Hamas fighters there, but also to the Israelis, who would by necessity consider such a location a legitimate target for any action against Hamas. However, the terrorist group has tried to immunize their headquarters by digging it under a hospital, leaving Israel no option but to target Al Shifa if they want to get rid of the Hamas terrorist leadership. Now, as you noted, we've seen those videos. Now it's that same hospital, Al Shifa, and we've now seen the videos of the tunnels going under that hospital. And they do it deliberately because they're trying to place the IDF in an impossible choice. Either you don't target the headquarters, in which case the terrorists continue to flourish and wage war and plot murder of civilians, or the IDF does target the headquarters and if they did it using bombs, the result would be hundreds of dead Palestinians, the women and children who are patients in the hospital that Hamas is using as human shields. Now, what has happened? Israel did not bomb the hospital, but the IDF forces have gone in the ground forces, and they've exposed the headquarters that was there. And that's precisely how Hamas uses Palestinians, hoping that they will be casualties of war, because they then know that the useful idiots in the media will use those casualties of war to demonize and undermine the state of Israel.
Ben Ferguson
When you look at moving forward with this war, it seems to me, and I may be wrong, but it seems like we are far from the end of this. And that's because of Israel's stated objective. And that doesn't seem to be changing because of this hostage negotiation, the ceasefire for four days. And again, you mentioned earlier, you can extend that by releasing 10 more hostages each day if Hamas wants to do that. Obviously, Hamas is going to use this time, as you said, to basically replenish their supplies and reorganize. And that's bad for Israel. That's bad for anyone that agrees that terrorism is wrong and evil. But you look at the reality of this, there is still a lot that has to be accomplished to get rid of Hamas. In the words of Netanyahu, they're not going to stop until this is over. I think people need to kind of have a mentality of, this isn't a week away from finishing or two weeks away. This is still going to take some time. This is dismantling a massive terrorist organization.
Ted Cruz
Yeah. In all likelihood, this war is going to take a matter of months. It's going to be an extended operation. In particular, because Hamas is burrowed in. It's burrowed in. In the midst of civilian targets. They deliberately are in hospitals, they deliberately are in schools, they are deliberately in the tunnels. And as a result of 300 trucks a day coming in, including fuel trucks, they're going to replenish their fuel supplies, which means they can stay in the underground tunnels. Some of the tunnels the Israelis have discovered, others they have not. It's very hard to locate a tunnel that is buried underneath a dense urban environment. Uh, we also know that in the coming days and weeks, we're gonna see continued propaganda. You know, one episode we did a verdict last week, we show. This was one of the video episodes that we did on YouTube, and we showed video of. Of an individual that appears to be a crisis actor. And there are multiple instances of him essentially working for Hamas and pretending to be all sorts of different characters in Gaza, from hospital workers to an injured person to a dead person. I mean, he's put out multiple videos where he miraculously is pushing forward the Hamas propaganda in every instance. And he put out the raw footage that was designed to show the horrible atrocities carried out by the Israelis. And as we pointed out, multiple news entities, including cbs, picked up his footage and ran at his news, and they just identified the source as, quote, social media. It's not difficult to find out that this guy is widely considered a fraud online, but yet the narrative fit the story that CBS and the fake media wanted to tell. And one of the astonishing aftermaths of that is after we put out our verdict, YouTube censored our podcast. And in particular, if you want to watch that episode, if you just try to click on YouTube and you're not logged in, it will not let you watch that episode. It said you must sign in and you must give your age. So if you're under 18, you're not allowed to give to watch that episode. And it gives a warning of graphic content. And listen, the result of that is substantially throttling the number of people who can see that episode. And it is an instance, it is a powerful instance of what I talk about in my new book that just came out, how to defeat the cultural Marxism in America, where you have big tech shilling for the corporate media, because neither big tech nor the corporate media want you to know that they are disseminating false propaganda. And this is an example of the corruption we see. By the way, YouTube to date still hasn't fixed it. So it is right now age gated on YouTube. The irony is they claim it's violent content. We're literally showing a CBS News broadcast. I don't think they age gate CBS News. And in fact, the content by all appearances appears to be fake. So it is fake violence that happened to be shown on CBS News that CBS News won't admit is likely fake. And yet YouTube says we're going to limit the number number of people who can see this.
Ben Ferguson
Yeah, it's amazing. When this happened, you and I were texting each other and honestly in shock. It was like, are you kidding me? We're exposing this. And now they want to just silence it, shut it down, and act like it never happened. You can grab that, that episode on YouTube and share it. Make sure you share it and log in and so you can see what we expose and just how much the left will throttle things that they don't want to get out there. This is a perfect example of it.
Ted Cruz
And Ben, you know, it's striking. We've been doing Verdict now for several years. This is the first instance that YouTube has stepped forward and blocked our content. So we've talked about COVID at the early parts of COVID We laid out in Verdict in this podcast evidence that the COVID virus escaped from a Chinese lab from the Wuhan Institute for Virology. This was the same time that Twitter and Facebook were suppressing anyone making that point. For whatever reason, YouTube did not block our early podcast, even though we were. We were getting a lot of viewers that were watching it. And, and, and we've talked a lot about taking on the corruption of Washington. And of every episode we've done, it says something that this is the first one they blocked. And I think it's the combination that Big Tech is all in with the corporate media in driving their cultural Marxist narrative that Israel are the bad guys and the Hamas terrorists are the oppressed victims. And anything that gets away in the way of that narrative, they're more than willing to abuse their power. It relates to, you know, the same episode we talked about TikTok and, and, and the trending videos on TikTok of, of young people praising Osama bin Laden, which sadly, the CCP is aggressively pushing. On one level, you can understand why the Chinese Communists are doing that, how harmful that is. But YouTube is ostensibly an American company. Why is YouTube doing that?
Ben Ferguson
Yeah, and the question you have to ask is, is it just because they want to silence and censor free speech? And specifically, do they want to censor views they disagree with? That's my takeaway from this, because I don't believe that this was an accident at all. This was us taking a stand, showing people what's happening and letting people know that there are these crisis actors on the side of the terrorists that are working for Hamas, and they can't stand for that narrative to get out there.
Ted Cruz
Well, if it was an accident, it is possible that their algorithms flagged it because it is images that are purported. Though we believe these are fake images purported to be of people with, with what appears to be blood on them, screaming after. After a rocket attack. Now, As I said, CBS News aired it, and, and, and oddly enough, YouTube doesn't block CBS News. But, but I could envision an algorithm that captured someone screaming, covered with blood and blocks it initially. But, but this is at the point. Now, it's been some time. There've been multiple news stories on this. And, and if it were caught initially by the algorithm, a human being could Correct it. And so whether a human being decided at the outset, nope, I don't want this to be seen. Or whether the algorithm decided at the outset and a human being just said, nope, we're not going to correct it either way. YouTube and Google, which owns YouTube, have culpability for it.
Ben Ferguson
For the holidays. A lot of you are probably thinking about Black Friday deals and you're thinking about ways to get maybe a new cell phone. Well, how would you like to get that new cell phone? And every time you use it, stand up for the values you believe in. Getting rid of the woke propaganda of big Mobile. You may not realize this, but Big Mobile gives big donations to hardcore lefties running for office at the local, state and national level. They also give massive donations to Planned Parenthood. Well, that's why I want you to know and make the switch with your cell phone to Patriot Mobile. For more than a decade now, Patriot Mobile has been America's only Christian conservative wireless provider. And when I say only, trust me, they are the only one. My friends at Patriot Mobile had one mission in mind and it's a mission that immediately made me want to work with them. It was to give people dependable nationwide cell phone coverage. And they do that by giving you the ability to access all three major networks which means you get the same coverage that you've been accustomed to without funding the left. Now when you switch to Patriot Mobile, you're also sending a very clear message that you support free speech, religious freedom, the sanctity of life, the second amendment as well as supporting our military, our veterans and our first responder heroes. They have 100% US based customer service team that makes switching easy. And you can keep your same cell phone number, keep your phone or upgrade to that new phone you've been wanting. Now here's the part I love the most. Every time you pay your bill, they take a percentage of that bill at no cost to you and give it back to conservative causes and organizations that fight for our values. So don't wait any longer. Make the switch and get rid of that woke company that you're on right now. 972-patriot is their number. That's 972-patriot. Use the promo code. Verdict. Not only we get the best deals of the year, but you'll also get free activation. That's 972-patriot or patriot mobile.com verdict. That's patriot mobile.com verdict or 972patriot. I want to move to another issue. A lot of Americans are going to be on the road listening to this episode going to spend time with their family over Thanksgiving. And there is something that happened this week that people, I'm sure, missed, and that is Biden's infrastructure spending has now gone woke. It's, it's, it's a great moment to pause and remind people, if you're Black Friday shopping, grab the Senator's new book, Unwoke. You can grab it. It's a best seller you can get on Amazon or wherever you get your books, unless you're at a bookstore in California. Apparently they don't like it very much out there in California, the bookstores. But, but you can grab it wherever you get your books. I love this part of censorship, by the way, Senator. There are quite a few bookstores. I've actually talked to friends who have gone into bookstores. Your book's a bestseller. And if you're in the wrong part of the country, in a more liberal woke part of the country, there's a very good chance you cannot find a hard copy of your book in a bookstore, which is maddening to me, especially since this is a bestseller.
Ted Cruz
Well, it is one of the many examples how corporate America is woke. As you know, two weeks ago I was in LA to shoot Bill Maher and talk about the book. And I actually met some friends in LA who went to try to buy the book and they went to a Barnes and Noble in LA and they didn't have a single copy of the book there. And they asked them, okay, search the system. And it turned out there was not one copy of my book. This is what they were told in any Barnes and Noble in the entire city of Los Angeles. And they had to actually drive to Long beach, which they did, to get several copies of the books because it was only the Barnes and Noble in Long beach that had the copies. And throughout la, they weren't there. Sadly, we're, we're hearing, we're hearing reports of that. There was also a letter, letter to the editor this past week in the Dallas Morning News complaining that the big box stores, which have lots and lots of books of other books that you can't find Unwoke, even though, as you noted, is it is a bestseller. It was at the top of the bestseller list. And yet the major bricks and mortar retail outlets are very reluctant to carry it. And when they do carry it, they certainly don't put it out on the table in front, they put it off in the back. The good news is you can order it online. So I would encourage you go online and order it. And you mentioned what came out this past week. And what came out this past week also is racist roads and WOKE infrastructure, which may sound absurd, but it's something I discuss at considerable length in the book on woke. And in June, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced that the Department of Transportation had started accepting applications for the National Infrastructure Project Assistance, Infrastructure for Rebuilding America, and the Rural Surface Transportation grant programs. These three programs together received $5.6 billion under the so called Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. And the Department of Transportation under Buddha Judge said the grants that would be awarded would support, quote, transformational infrastructure projects across the nation. But the notice of funding opportunity issued states that recipients must broadly address, quote, equity and climate concerns. And further, it says, quote, projects that have not sufficiently considered the equity and barriers to opportunity in their planning as determined by the department will be required to do so before receiving funds for construction. Quote, projects that have not sufficiently considered climate change and environmental justice in their planning as determined by the department will be required to do so before receiving funds for construction. Now, mind you, what they're saying is if you're actually building roads, if you're actually building freeways, then that is is not sufficient. And, and in fact, Pete Buttigieg made news in 2021 when he said, quote, there is racism physically built into some of our highways. Now, now, now, that is idiotic. And, and, and I would note that, that, that the DOT grants also additionally target. So DOT policies frame road building. Here's what they call road building, Quote, increasing automobile dependence. And so they condemn highway expansion projects that don't involve electric vehicle charging stations or bike lanes. So it is. Remember, there was a lot of hoopla over all the money to be spent on infrastructure and roads and bridges.
Ben Ferguson
Oh, yeah.
Ted Cruz
Well, it turns out Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg don't actually want roads and bridges. Instead, they have a WOKE agenda. Now here's the good news, which is that I sent, I sent a request for a determination as to whether this announcement constitutes a rule and receive that determination, which means that it is subject to being overturned by Congress by a simple majority vote. And so I intend to introduce that resolution of disapproval to force a vote in the Senate. Now, Biden can veto that vote, but in the Senate we're gonna see if all the people who trumpeted the infrastructure program support blocking them from going to roads and bridges unless they are sufficiently woke and fighting racist roads, whatever the hell that is.
Ben Ferguson
When people hear this and they hear racist roads, as you just described it, there's, and you talk about billions upon Billions of taxpayers dollars that's meant for these infrastructure projects that are now just being turned in these woken agenda items. How many members of Congress are behind this as well? Because yes, it's a Biden administration initiative, but you still got to have some Congress people behind you. Is this just the part of now where we are in politics where they look at you, they'll say this is for infrastructure straight up lie to you and then waste billions of your dollars on woke agenda items.
Ted Cruz
Well listen, a lot of the left wing Democrats in Congress are emphatically behind this. So the Bernie Sanders, the Elizabeth Warrens, the AOCs are cheering this on because this is the agenda they want. I will say there are a number of Republicans who you know are a little bit like Charlie Brown with Lucy and the football. They listen to Democrats who say okay, let's work together on something like roads and bridges. And the Republicans are like oh yeah, yeah, roads and bridges. Those sound really good. And they write in into law funding for roads and bridges. Now the left wing Democrats they're negotiating with know fully well they're pulling the football away and Charlie Brown is landing on his ass. They know that. But these Republicans are just gullible and they fall into it over and over and over again. And if they weren't gullible, they would have written into the statute prohibitions on the Biden administration doing this. Because you and I knew the Biden administration was going to do this because that's who they are. They are cultural Marxists. It's why I wrote the book Unwoke to lay out what it means. The radicals who have taken over our government and we have too many Republicans in Congress who are fundamentally naive and they just keep running and trying to kick that football and the problem keeps getting worse and worse.
Ben Ferguson
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Ted Cruz
Now look, that's exactly right. The Verdict listeners are an amazing, engaged, informed, powerful group of men and women and group of young people and you are regular listeners to this podcast because you want to know what's really going on. You want to understand, you know that if you turn on the 6:00 news, if you turn on CNN, if you turn on MSNBC, you're not going to really hear the truth. You're going to hear the narrative they want to tell. And even Fox News or Newsmax or OAN which do terrific jobs. But it's very difficult in a six or eight minute snippet to understand the substance of complex issues. And it's I go on those shows all the time. But what you can discuss in a few minutes is fundamentally different from what you can talk about in a podcast where you pick issues that really matter and you try to bring your listeners behind the scenes to understand what's really going on. And so I'll say it's right now, it's 10:15 at night on Tuesday of Thanksgiving week and we're both away from our families recording this podcast right now. Many of you are listening to it on Wednesday. Many of you are on the road. You're driving to see your family somewhere in Texas, somewhere across the country, or you're on an airplane and you're flying and you've downloaded this podcast. And I want to first of all, say, wish you traveling mercies and hope that you travel safely. I want to thank you for being part of the Verdict community because the listeners who engage y'all have an impact. There is a reason this podcast has repeatedly forced the White House to respond to it from the White House podium at White House briefings. There's a reason we were able to change administration policy. There's a reason we were able to drive the truth even when the corporate media is trying to cover it up. And it's because of all of you. It's because we have roughly a million unique listeners. We're beating CNN every week. And so I am thankful for you. But I hope on this Thanksgiving tomorrow you take time to give thanks. Give thanks for your family, give thanks for your health, give thanks for your children especially, and give thanks for your country. Your country. America is facing enormous challenges, but we are still blessed beyond words. We live in the greatest country on the face of the earth. And it is a blessing. It is a blessing to fight for America at a time of great peril. And that's where we are. And so, and you know my I am thankful for each of you. I'm thankful for your courage. I'm thankful for your love of America because it's that love of America that I believe will save our nation.
Ben Ferguson
Amen to that. Happy Thanksgiving center to you and your family and to each and every one of you that's listening right now. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Verdict. We'll see you back here on on Saturday for a weekend recap. Don't forget to hit that Follow subscriber auto download button wherever you get this podcast so that you don't miss a single episode. And, and as we said earlier, pray for the people in Israel. Pray for these hostages. There is going to be great news with these, these 50 that are going to be released, but there are many others that are going to be in anguish because their loved ones were not released by these terrorists. So make sure you say a special prayer for them and the center and I will see you back here in a couple of days.
Summary of "Major Hostage Deal: 50 Israeli Women & Children to be Freed, but Hamas Given Time and Fuel to Rebuild, plus Biden's Woke War on 'Racist Roads'"
Released on November 22, 2023, "The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson" features a deep dive into the recent hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, the implications for future terrorism, and a critical analysis of the Biden administration's infrastructure policies.
Ben Ferguson opens the episode by welcoming Senator Ted Cruz and highlighting the recent Israeli ceasefire with Hamas, which involves the release of 50 hostages—comprising women and children.
Notable Quote:
"There is a ceasefire that has been announced. Israel has approved a ceasefire with Hamas. We're being told that 50 hostages are set to be released." (00:01)
Senator Cruz elaborates on the ceasefire, explaining that the agreement includes Israel releasing 150 Palestinians in exchange for the hostages. While the release of hostages is celebrated, Cruz expresses concern about Hamas potentially regaining strength due to fuel shipments allowed into Gaza.
Notable Quote:
"In exchange for the 50 hostages being released, Israel has apparently committed to releasing 150 Palestinians that are in jail." (00:33)
The discussion shifts to the broader implications of negotiating with terrorist organizations. Cruz acknowledges that such deals can incentivize future hostage-taking but emphasizes the dire need to secure the release of hostages.
Notable Quote:
"It incentivizes the taking of hostages. And one of the tragedies, this is what happens when terrorists take hostages, is that it forces individuals and families, forces countries to make bad decisions." (05:15)
Cruz discusses the strategic advantages Hamas might gain from the ceasefire, including the ability to restock and rebuild. He highlights the use of tunnels and the provision of fuel as critical factors that could prolong the conflict.
Notable Quote:
"Hamas with regularity uses teenagers, uses 16, 17 year olds to commit acts of terrorism." (00:33)
The conversation delves into the tactics employed by Hamas, particularly the use of human shields and extensive tunnel systems beneath civilian structures like hospitals. Cruz references his previous work to underscore Hamas' manipulative strategies.
Notable Quote:
"Hamas, which controls Gaza, is using the civilian population as human shields. The terrorist group has placed its missiles in schools and mosques, and even more deplorably, burrowed its command center underneath the Al Shifa hospital." (13:29)
Cruz and Ferguson critique the media's handling of conflict-related information, citing instances where propaganda and misinformation are disseminated. They highlight the censorship of their podcast episode on platforms like YouTube as evidence of media suppression.
Notable Quote:
"And one of the astonishing aftermaths of that is after we put out our verdict, YouTube censored our podcast." (17:31)
The episode shifts focus to the Biden administration's infrastructure spending, which Cruz argues has deviated from traditional infrastructure projects to incorporate "woke" agenda items like equity and climate concerns, specifically criticizing the notion of "racist roads."
Notable Quote:
"Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced that the Department of Transportation had started accepting applications for the National Infrastructure Project Assistance... projects that have not sufficiently considered the equity and barriers to opportunity in their planning... will be required to do so before receiving funds for construction." (27:40)
Cruz explains the political landscape surrounding the infrastructure policies, noting strong support from left-wing Democrats and criticizing some Republicans for lacking the foresight to counter these measures effectively.
Notable Quote:
"A lot of the left-wing Democrats in Congress are emphatically behind this. So the Bernie Sanders, the Elizabeth Warrens, the AOCs are cheering this on because this is the agenda they want." (33:13)
In the final segment, both Ferguson and Cruz extend Thanksgiving greetings, emphasize the importance of their listener community, and encourage support for their initiatives and viewpoints.
Notable Quote:
"I am thankful for each of you. I'm thankful for your courage. I'm thankful for your love of America because it's that love of America that I believe will save our nation." (36:47)
This episode of "The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson" provides a comprehensive analysis of the recent hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, highlighting both the immediate benefits and the potential long-term risks associated with the agreement. Additionally, it offers a critical perspective on the Biden administration's infrastructure policies, framing them within a broader context of political and cultural conflicts. Through engaging dialogue and insightful commentary, Ferguson and Cruz aim to inform listeners about the complexities shaping America's current political and international landscape.
This summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights from the episode, providing listeners with a clear understanding of the topics covered without needing to listen to the full podcast.