JD Vance To Rogan: "The Iran War Is Going Just Great!" w/ Prof. Marandi

Summary

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The Jimmy Dore Show: "JD Vance To Rogan: 'The Iran War Is Going Just Great!' w/ Prof. Marandi"

Date: July 17, 2026 | Host: Jimmy Dore (with guest hosts Russell Dobular, Misty Winston, Keaton, et al.)

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Episode Overview

This episode spans several high-profile subjects, blending sharp critique, debate, and humor in the show's signature irreverent style. The focus points include:

• Republican J.D. Vance's recent remarks on the ongoing Iran war, as dissected by Professor Marandi.
• A viral, confrontational interview between journalist Jeremy Scahill and Congressman Ro Khanna over U.S. policy toward Israel and Palestine.
• Misty Winston's deep dive into the spread and dangers of Flock Safety surveillance cameras in American communities.
• A running satirical analysis of Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's health and the political gamesmanship surrounding his possible incapacitation.

Throughout, the panelists and guests push against mainstream narratives, challenging political double standards and exposing the machinations of power with candid, sometimes profane wit.

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1. JD Vance on Rogan: The Iran War "Going Great"?

[00:36 – 12:30]

Key Points

• J.D. Vance’s Framing: Vance, vice president in this scenario, explains the “messy” diplomatic on-off rhythm of U.S.–Iran dealings, claiming the U.S. is on “the right trajectory” despite ongoing violence, and describes the interplay between Iranian “hardliners” and “pragmatists."
• Misrepresentation of the MoU: Vance insists the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was intended to open oil flow and calm violence, with promises of future negotiation over Iran's nuclear program and sanction relief, but laments “messy” realities.
• U.S./Iran Tit-for-Tat: Vance rationalizes U.S. military responses to Iranian actions in the Strait of Hormuz, presenting them as necessary to maintain world energy stability.

Professor Marandi’s Critique

• Myth of Iranian Chaos: Marandi scoffs at the “crazy vs. pragmatic” framework, calling it “nonsense.” He points out, “No country can survive where you have different factions doing different things.”
• False Negotiations: Denies actual negotiations with Americans occurred—“that hasn’t existed.”
• On U.S. Duplicity: Marandi claims Trump only made the deal to stave off a U.S. domestic energy crisis and never intended to fulfill commitments: “He had no intention of carrying out the deal. This is my opinion.”
• Strategic Iranian Moves: Iran, believing the U.S. wouldn’t honor the deal, quickly exported oil and essential goods to prepare for resumed sanctions.
• Summary: “Iran is more prepared now than before the MoU, because of its exports and imports. And now we’re back to war.”

Notable Quotes

• JD Vance:

  "I can't predict the future... but I think fundamentally we are on the right trajectory. It's just going to be really messy. There’s gonna be a lot of stuff starts." (03:26)

• Prof. Marandi:

  “If Iran is so chaotic... it’s amazing how they won the war… That’s nonsense.” (04:49)
  “He [Trump] had no intention of carrying out the deal... why was Trump insistent on having the deal? … he himself admitted that we only had four weeks of reserves left.” (07:57)

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2. Ro Khanna Confronted on Palestine: The Jeremy Scahill Interview

[13:04 – 20:44]

Key Points

• Scahill Corners Khanna: In a now-viral interview, Scahill presses Khanna to justify any support for Israel, an "openly genocidal society," and pins him on whether Palestinians have the legal/moral right to attack occupying Israeli soldiers.
• Universal Standard of Violence: Scahill insists on applying the same standards to both sides, exposing selective outrage and legal ignorance in political discourse.
• Ro Khanna's Dodges: Khanna defends Israel’s right to develop Iron Dome but disavows Palestinian armed resistance as terrorism, even when targeting military bases.
• International Law: Katie Halper highlights that Geneva Conventions and UN resolutions affirm the occupied’s right to armed struggle, so long as civilians aren’t targeted.

Notable Quotes

• Jeremy Scahill:

  “...do they [Palestinians] have a right to attack Israeli soldiers? On October 7th, when they attacked the military bases in the Gaza envelope, did the Qassam Brigades... have a right to kill Israeli soldiers? Yes or no?” (16:00)

• Ro Khanna:

  “I’m not going to say that Hamas had a right to attack Israeli soldiers...” (17:15)

• Katie Halper:

  “There’s a UN General Assembly resolution from 1982... affirms... the legitimacy of the struggle of people for independence... by all available means, including armed struggle.” (18:40)

• Dave Smith (quoted by Russell Brand):

  “All Jeremy Scahill did was insist on a universal standard for the moral use of violence...” (18:12)

Panel Insights

• The Taboo of Legal Truth: Halper: “It’s actually legal what Hamas does if they are attacking soldiers. And it’s not legal what Israel does.” (19:52)
• Career Consequences: “Is it the end of someone's political career if they say this is the law?” (21:20)

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3. Surveillance State Alert: The Flock Camera Explosion

[25:42 – 40:29]

Key Points

• What Is Flock? Flock Safety installs license plate readers and “ALPRs” across U.S. towns. Ostensibly for safety, Misty Winston argues they’re a framework for total surveillance, not just traffic enforcement.
• CEO's Smear Against Activists: Flock's CEO brands deflock.org (a grassroots open-source mapping project) a "terrorist organization" and “closer to antifa than anything else.” (27:27)
• ACLU Debunks Flock: Misty exposes how Flock lies about collaborating with the ACLU, emphasizing, “As an organization that has spent 106 years earning our good name and reputation, we can confidently advise Flock that lying to the public... is not how you get there.”
• Rapid Expansion: Animated maps show Flock’s spread skyrocketing over the past two years. Misty: “It’s terrifying how fast they are going up.” (35:45)
• Action Steps: Misty urges listeners to join or start local groups via deflock.org to pressure local governments, attend town halls, and resist camera installation.

Notable Quotes

• Misty Winston:

  “They have them on playgrounds... These are not license plate readers. They are surveillance. Period. End of story. This is facial recognition. This is...the surveillance state.” (28:19) “Flock cameras can scan up to 20 billion plates a month. Tell me again how this isn’t a nationwide tracking system.” (34:15) “You should feel free to voice your concerns about Flock... It’s insane and it is a gross violation of our privacy.” (35:45)

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4. #WeekendAtMitchs: McConnell’s Health and the Senate’s Deadpool

[40:29 – 59:39]

Key Points

• The Mystery: After reports of a cardiac event at Mitch McConnell's home, his actual condition and whether he’s even alive become objects of darkly comic speculation.
• Official Vagueness: McConnell’s staff claim he’s “improving” and working remotely, but offer no medical specifics. (42:19)
• Political Stakes: Kentucky law determines whether a special election is necessary based on timing of the death/incapacitation. The GOP is incentivized to delay any announcement until after August 3rd.
• Schrödinger’s Senator: Panel jokes about “Schrödinger's Mitch”—McConnell is both alive and politically useful until proven otherwise, drawing analogies to past “zombie” Congresspeople.
• Governor’s Letter: Gov. Andy Beshear formally requests health updates, emphasizing the need for transparency.
• Game Theory: Panelists explain how succession mechanics could block undesirable replacements (e.g., Thomas Massie).

Notable Quotes

• Keaton (on the charade):

  “The theory is... they’re afraid that if that should happen, maybe Thomas Massie would run... so they are stalling until August 3rd because if he is pronounced dead after August 3rd, then they just wait until the November election...” (46:33)

• Kurt:

  “I want a law where you just have to hold a mirror under their nose before every vote.” (48:18)

• Keaton:

  “Is McConnell alive and well? Is he awake and functional? Is he a vegetable? Either way, they’re trying to make sure we don’t have the answer to that until after August 3rd.” (56:07)

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Memorable Moments & Tone

• Dark Satire & Mockery: The show's trademark is on display as hosts lampoon official narratives, lampooning the “rotating villain” technique in Congress, and the macabre farce of hiding a possibly dead or incapacitated senator.
• Sharp Rebuttals: Professor Marandi’s withering dismissal of Vance’s Iran analysis and the viral scars left by the Scahill-Khanna confrontation exemplify the show’s combative edge.
• Flock Surveillance Segment: Misty Winston’s righteous anger and activism, amplified with humour and direct calls-to-action, stand out as a grassroots rallying cry.

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Important Segment Timestamps

| Topic | Timestamp | |----------------------------------------|--------------| | JD Vance's account of Iran war | 00:36–04:40 | | Prof. Marandi response/debunking | 04:49–12:30 | | Jeremy Scahill vs. Ro Khanna | 13:04–20:44 | | Surveillance state/Flock cameras | 25:42–40:29 | | Mitch McConnell health/political games | 40:29–59:39 |

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Final Thoughts

This episode features:

• A deflation of elite narratives on Iran policy,
• A live demonstration of the limits of mainstream U.S. debate on Israel/Palestine,
• A clear-eyed warning about the creeping surveillance state,
• And ruthlessly funny commentary on power, both alive and undead.

If you want trenchant, risk-taking dialogue beyond the polite boundaries of cable news, this episode delivers—sometimes rowdy, sometimes biting, but always unapologetically honest.

Transcript

[Jimmy Dore]

Hey, come see me on tour. We'll be in Burbank, California, August 30th with the live celebrity panel show. And then September 18th through the 20th in Chicago, Illinois and Rosemont, Illinois. Go to Jimmy Doe.com for a link for tickets.

[Misty Winston]

Establishment media sucks. August Light and so good luck.

[Garrett Langley]

Bullshit.

[Misty Winston]

We can't afford why he's commenting this. Watch and see as his jack golf the medium speeds and jumps the medium and hits some head down.

[Professor Morandi]

It's the Jimmy door show.

[Russell Brand]

So J.D. vance went on Joe Rogan. Let me set this up. Actually, there's Russell Dobular Phil again for Jimmy Dore here with Professor Morandi, our friend of the show. We're very glad to see safe sound looking very well. JD Vance went on Joe Rogan and laid out his version of why this war seemingly keeps stopping and starting and stopping and starting. So this was his version of events

[Keaton]

going on with Iran where it seems like the President keeps saying that a deal's reached, negotiations have been successful, and then it all falls apart and we start bombing them again.

[Garrett Langley]

Yeah.

[Joe]

So how long do we have here?

[Keaton]

Because this is as much time as you need.

[Joe]

So I have to explain a couple of things in the background so you sort of fully appreciate people, fully appreciate what's going on here. So number one, it's a bit of a simplification, but you have two elements within the Iranian system. You have, and you sometimes hear hawkish Americans say this, that they're all crazy people. They want to bring about the 12th Imam and the apocalypse and all that stuff. There are people in Iran who believe that they're also pragmatists. You've got the crazy people, you've got the pragmatists. Okay, so when we struck this MoU, and really what the MOU says, and it was misrepresented more than almost anything that I've ever worked on in public life. What it says is Iran is going to open the Strait of Hormuz, the violence is going to stop, and then we're going to negotiate to see if we can come to a broader deal on the long term nuclear issue. That's what we wanted. And what the Iranians wanted, of course, was long term economic and sanctions relief. Now, here's the problem with where we are right now and I guess my summary view, Joe, is that I, of course, can't predict the future. I don't know exactly where this is going to go, but I think fundamentally we are on the right trajectory. It's just going to be really messy and there's Going to be a lot of stuff starts. So what happens the first week after we signed the MoU, yet 20 million barrels a day of oil out of the Strait of Hormuz. That's what it was before the war. The price of oil comes way down. And there are elements, the hardliners in the Iranian system kind of freak out a little bit. They're like, oh shit, did we just give away our major leverage points? Screw nuclear weapons. We just gave away the so in this MoU. And so there was this kind of freak out in their system. So they shot at the couples, we responded. And I think that's entirely appropriate, of course, if they're going to shoot at ships, we're going to shoot at the people who are shooting at the ships or the facilities that they're using to shoot at ships. So that happens. Okay. And then the Iranians are like, oh no, fine, you're right, we shouldn't have been shooting at ships. So then they come back to the table and there's a few more days of negotiation. And then the phase they're in right now is the hardliners have really, really reacted strongly to all the oil that's coming out of the Strait of Hormuz. And they've basically said, we're going to try to shut this thing down. We're scared about losing our leverage. Now the pragmatists in their system are saying, this was a mistake, let's keep on talking. And again, ultimately going to shake out. Of course I don't. But what we're doing is a delicate diplomatic dance where we're using economic leverage points, we're using carrots and sticks, trying to talk to the pragmatists. And then of course, when they commit acts of violence, we're responding to it. And all those things are happening simultaneously to get us on a better trajectory. That said, yes, right now they're shooting right now. Last night they shot at some ships, but with all that said, is their nuclear program still destroyed? Yes. Are the straits not necessarily fully pre war traffic.

[Jimmy Dore]

But.

[Joe]

But are we getting enough oil and gas out of the Strait of Hormuz to prevent a worldwide energy crisis? Yes. And all of these things are happening in the context of the broader negotiation over the nuclear program. You never know where this is ultimately going to end up, but that's where we are.

[Ro Khanna]

Okay.

[Russell Brand]

I could see you holding back laughter a couple times during that. So do you have a response to that? I know there's a lot there. Take your time.

[Professor Morandi]

Well, there are a few things. One is that this whole pragmatic, crazy divide and one group does something and another, Another group does something else. I mean, if Iran is so chaotic and everyone does their own thing, I, it's, it's amazing how they won the war and they won the siege warfare and they got the mou, the negotiated deal with all that chaos. I mean, no country can survive where you have different factions doing different things. And one says, you know, this is wrong, but the other is firing missiles. That's nonsense. What happened basically was that first of all, we haven't had negotiations with Americans. I mean, that hasn't existed. And I think Vance, and I can't say with confidence, but Vance, of course, he's the Vice President. He can't say that Trump is talking nonsense. Vance has his own worldview. I assume that it, that because of what I've heard from Tucker Carlson on his show, that he, the relationship between him and Tucker Carlson is different from that of Trump with Tucker Carlson. So Vance, on the, on the other hand, therefore has, probably has a different worldview than that of Trump and some of the people around Trump. So he wants to have, he wants to have his cake and eat it too. On the one hand, he wants to say that I'm with Trump and you know, what we're doing is right, but when he tries to describe it, it doesn't make sense. You have this faction firing missiles and this other faction says we shouldn't be firing these missiles and sorry, and that's just nonsense. But he wants, I think, the process to continue because probably he understands that the war is not going to get the United States to a good place. So he's trying to say, you know, let's find a negotiated solution. The fact is that the United States engaged in this war with Israeli regime. It was unprovoked and all that. Then after the ceasefire, the siege war warfare began, basically because the United States refused to implement the ceasefire deal which included Lebanon. And Netanyahu refused. He carpet bombed Beirut. So we had a two month, I don't know, I guess two month or so, more than two months of siege warfare. Then we had the mou and there were some differences between the two sides. We weren't getting to the deal. And then Netanyahu bombed Beirut. Iran was about to fire missiles at Israel. My understanding, this is my interpretation. Trump was afraid that if Iran and the Israeli regime got into a warfare that the deal would be set back. So he gave the concessions that the Iranians wanted and the deal was signed. But he had no intention of carrying out the deal. This is my opinion. And in Iran, no. The leaders and the elites and the analysts, I don't know anyone who believed that the United States was going to carry out. But why was Trump insistent on having the deal? Because he himself admitted that we only had four weeks of reserves left. Oil reserves, energy reserve. And he, he spoke of Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression and he doesn't want to see that happen. And so we are where we are. But since Trump did not want to implement the deal, everyone was attacking him for it. He began to undermine it step by step. He effectively refused to carry out any of his obligations, except for one, and that was the siege.

[Keaton]

Why?

[Professor Morandi]

Because, as Van said, he wanted the oil to come out. So he wanted the oil to come out. He removed the siege. But everything else he violated. He was supposed to hand over Iran's stolen assets. He refused. He was supposed to force the Israeli regime to leave Lebanon and to stop the killing. He refused. He was supposed to remove sanctions on Iran's energy exports. He lifted them and then restated them after just a few days. He, according to the deal, is not allowed to threaten Iranian leaders or the Iranian people. He did that repeatedly and that he expanded the sanctions regime, a violation of the deal. And then, and this is where we get to what Vance was saying. He. During the two month period of the MoU, Iran was supposed to control the Strait of Hormuz and facilitate the normalization of the trade or the shipping that goes through the strait. So what did the Americans do? And there's Nothing in Article 5, which has to do with this, about Americans intruding and getting involved in the strait. So the Americans come in and they set up their own corridor for ships, which goes against Article 5. And people can see it, it's online. They set up this corridor. The Iranians tell the Americans, this is a violation. We're supposed to be the side that's in charge. The Americans ignore them. And then those countries that help the Americans launch the war against Iran, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Qatar, they started sending their ships through the American corridor. Iran, for a number of days, said, complained, but did nothing serious about it. Then finally the Iranians said, enough is enough. They hit three ships. And then the Americans started. Well, they hit ships and then, you know, the Americans started hitting Iran, which was another violation, attacking Iran. So basically what Trump did was that he was violating all of his commitments. And then he wanted to control the Strait of Hormones too, and undermine Iran's authority. And Iran was not going to have that because Iran knew That, well, he doesn't abide by his commitment, and then he takes control of the Strait of Hormuz. He affects, he effectively wins. So the Iranians began to hit back, and now the Americans are engaging in this war. But the Americans had been preparing for this because ever since the ceasefire, they brought in a lot of equipment for, for ground warfare, and they've kept all their planes, almost all of their planes in place. I don't know if every single one is here, but all of their assets are in the region. But the Iranians also, they, they were preparing themselves since ceasefire. But. And also the Iranians did something that I think was very important, and that was that as soon as the MoU was signed, as I said, the Iranians knew that Trump would not abide by his commitments. But they immediately began to export large quantities of oil because Iran had a lot of tankers in the Persian Gulf which were full of oil but couldn't leave because of the siege. So they sent a lot of oil quickly, imported essential goods so that if, when, when the Americans reimpose the siege, which is illegal because it's directed at ordinary people, they would be prepared. So Iran is more prepared now than it was before the MoU, because of its exports and because of its import. And now we're back to work.

[Jimmy Dore]

Hey, you know, here's another great way you can help support the show is you become a premium member. We give you a couple of hours of premium bonus content every week, and it's a great way to help support the show. You can do it by going to jimmy dork.com clicking on join premium. It's the most affordable premium program in the business, and it's a great way to help put your thumb back in the eye of the bastards. Thanks for everybody who was already a premium member. And if you haven't, you're missing out. We give you lots of bonus content. Thanks for your support.

[Russell Brand]

Russell Davular here filling in for Jimmy Dore with our friend Katie Halper. Ro Khanna is somebody that has been a lot better who's been working with Thomas Massie on some important legislation on the Epstein files. And now we'll get into the ndaa. But to his credit, Jeremy Scahill went there, went to a place, I think a lot of people don't necessarily want to go with Roe. Okay. He's perceived as one of the good ones. Right.

[Katie Halper]

Shows he'll disagree with you. He doesn't get, like, personal, take it personally. Yeah. I'm saying all the things that make people Want to have it? You know, be nice to him.

[Russell Brand]

Oh, hang on. You know what, I gotta load that in.

[Katie Halper]

Okay.

[Russell Brand]

Because I ran out of slots, but go on.

[Katie Halper]

No, I was just saying, I mean, I'm someone who. Yeah, I've had Rokhan on. I think he's very nice and he does go on. He's not afraid of going on shows with people he disagrees with. He's like one of the only people who goes on. You know, a lot of people would go on shows, leftist shows, until they get into office and then they stop, but he has not.

[Russell Brand]

Right, Right. He went on, he went on with Nick on Revolutionary Blackout Network. Okay, so this, this has gone viral. And yeah, it calls out the core contradictions in supporting Israel and acknowledging what Israel is. It's kind of one or the other. And Roe wants it both ways.

[Jeremy Scahill]

This about apartheid South Africa. I've heard you talk.

[Ro Khanna]

Well, because I think.

[Jeremy Scahill]

Because I give another example where you say it's okay to continue any level of support for an openly genocidal society that has mass murdered 80,000 people, more than 300 media workers, has invaded Lebanon, has bombed Iran, and you're saying, oh, but we need to protect civilians. This isn't about protecting civilians. The greatest threat to their civilians is their policy. And so I don't understand why you have even one qualified shred of support for a sniper mass murderer masquerading as the only democracy in the Middle East.

[Ro Khanna]

Well, but I'm not saying that the United States should be supporting the funding for Iron Dome, just so we're clear. I'm saying that we shouldn't be restricting Israel from being able to get the Iron Dome or be able to develop the Iron Dome technology.

[Jeremy Scahill]

I stop there. Everything else you're saying makes so much sense. Why do you stop there? It feels to me like you're trying to have it both ways on this issue. So you can say, well, I actually support, you know, defending the Israeli civilians. You're not defending Israeli civilians with that policy. You're defending the sniper's ability to keep killing because it won't face the ultimate accountability, which is a total embargo on all support for an apartheid state.

[Ro Khanna]

Yeah, I, I don't think you have to put at risk. There are. You would agree there are innocent civilians in Israel. Right. Including 20% being Arab Israelis. I mean, I just don't think that you have to put their lives at risk to achieve the ends of stopping the apartheid, stopping the occupation.

[Jeremy Scahill]

Israel puts their lives at risk, but Israel puts their lives at risk by Waging genocidal wars with the support of a significant portion of its population and by enabling them, by saying, well, the sniper still needs to have his cover, or, well, you know, I stop at this thing. What you're saying is that the accountability then doesn't lie on American policy toward Israel. It's sort of something abstract. Well, Israeli civilians could die. Israeli civilians are dying in these attacks because of the apartheid. You know, Palestinians. Do Palestinians have a right to kill Israeli soldiers? Congressman, on October 7th, when they attacked the military bases in the Gaza envelope, did the Qassam Brigades in Sarai Al Quds have a right to kill Israeli soldiers? Yes OR no? On October 7, did Palestinians have a right to attack Israeli military bases in the Gaza envelope, yes or no?

[Ro Khanna]

I mean, I think October 7th attack was a terrorist attack. So I don't.

[Jeremy Scahill]

Was it a terrorist attack when the first targets that were hit on the morning of October 7th were multiple military bases, Did Palestinian forces have a right to attack those military bases?

[Ro Khanna]

I am not for violent violence again, in any way. I mean, I am for making sure that we end the right to do it.

[Jeremy Scahill]

Congressman, do they have a right to attack Israeli soldiers?

[Ro Khanna]

No, I'm not, I'm not going to say that Hamas had a right to attack Israeli soldiers or is, or kill Israelis. Like, I don't, I don't think that advances peace or, or, or advances Palestinian statehood. Did.

[Jeremy Scahill]

Is Israel have a right to drop a single bomb in Gaza in response to October 7?

[Ro Khanna]

I believe Israel had the right to get, get people who killed the civilians, but not in the way they went about it, which is I, which, which I've said is genocide.

[Jeremy Scahill]

But the Palestinians don't have a right to attack the very military bases that are running the killing operations on October 6, 2023, or October 5, 2023 standard. You're saying there are ways that Israel should be able to kill Palestinians, but there is never a condition under which Palestinians can attack armed uniformed soldiers of a force that is still considered an occupying force under international law. I don't make it make sense to me.

[Russell Brand]

Yeah, and just put a button on that. Dave Smith commented. All Jeremy Scahill did was insist on a universal standard for the moral use of violence. The Israel Firsters are flipping out because that insistence undermines their entire worldview.

[Professor Morandi]

Right.

[Russell Brand]

Yeah. Very well said, very succinct. Yeah, that's exactly what it is. They're going nuts right now, if you've seen the discourse around this.

[Katie Halper]

Yes, they are. And you know what's interesting is that people are Talking about what Jeremy said as if it's just totally radical, like, outside the parameters of acceptable discourse. Now it's outside of the parameters of acceptable corporate media discourse and acceptable political discourse. But, you know, and the only thing I would have said that. I mean, I think Jeremy was. Did a fantastic job. The only thing I would have said would have been a good reminder is that this is not just, like, this is not. This is settled law. Like, this is. There's a UN resolution, UN General assembly resolution from 1982, and it affirms, quote, the legitimacy of the struggle of people for independence, territorial integrity, national unity, and liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle. So the question really is now, to be clear, that does not. That does not just allow, like, morality aside, right? Just going through what this means. Like, you're not allowed to target civilians, and you're not allowed to say, oh, well, these civilians, they're Israelis, so they served in the military in the past or they will in the future. That's also. They have to be active duty. Right. But what is stunning is that, like, people don't know that. That, that's a. That that is an enshrined principle in international humanitarian law. And that what the irony is that, like, I think if. If Khanna had said Israel has no right to bomb anyone in Gaza, including, like, Hamas, maybe his. His saying that Hamas has no right to kill any Israeli soldiers would have had made more sense. S. I mean, I still don't think it holds up. It doesn't. It's not the law. Right. But just morally, if he was like a total pacifist, like, he's kind of framing himself to be, then, yeah, you would oppose state violence or, you know, extra. Extra state violence on both sides. Right? But. But the truth is, it's. It's. It's actually legal what Hamas does if they are attacking soldiers. And it's not legal what Israel does.

[Russell Brand]

Right. And I think that what he really blew the lid off here is the South Africa question. Do you. Do you support an apartheid state? Right? Like, if you're acknowledging it's an apartheid state, it's kind of the end of the conversation, right? Like, there is no further conversation about their legitimate right to defend themselves and certainly for us to be party to supporting that defense, you can't. Roe wants to have it both ways.

[Keaton]

Now, is that how much of this is.

[Katie Halper]

Because, I mean, I don't even. I don't want to suggest that I'm, like, justifying it, but I Wonder, honestly, if, like, is it the end of someone's political career if they say that there is, even though it's in. And this is what's so funny is that the idiots who are like, the Israel Firsters are. They're just outing themselves as not knowing what international humanitarian law says about this, because, again, they're, they're just revealing that they've never looked into this at all. It's a very basic thing. Right, Right. That they are allowed to do this. You are allowed to raise up. You are allowed to raise arms and kill occupying soldiers. Now, they may not like that, but it's, it's the, it is that. That is the established convention. So when people are saying how atrocious this is or it's illegal or it's terrorism, it's like, literally, it's. The OP is not terrorism. It happens to not be terrorism. Now, we can have a whole other discussion over what is terrorism and, you know, what's justified and double standard. But I do wonder, is it, like, can you not, do you think that anyone who acknowledged the fact that it is the law IHL just would have no political career left because they would just cut the, the ad right away

[Russell Brand]

at his, at Ro Khanna's level of the game? Yeah, I think they would probably destroy you. Which, hey, man, I get why people don't at all want to work with the Democratic Party. Because you look at Ro Khanna. Yeah, that's probably about as good as you're going to get, and it's not nearly good enough. We did just have breaking news right before we went on the air that 100 Democrats came out in support of the Massie Khanna bill to cut funding to Israel. But is that the rotating villain technique? I suspect it is. That they have enough to defeat it anyway. Go ahead.

[Jimmy Dore]

Right, right.

[Katie Halper]

And Connor just went. Came back from the West Bank. Right. And he was actually, like, detained. So he is, he does, you know, does do good stuff. I mean, part of me just thinks, like, maybe if we make this, if more and more journalists bring this up, maybe it becomes a normal, it can be normalized, this idea. I'm not, you know, and again, he was, he was, he was kind of answering questions about, like, what he thought was better for the Palestinian peace process and for statehood. And that's not really what Jeremy was asking. He was asking if they have the right.

[Russell Brand]

Right. Well, yes. Well, that's what, that's why this blew up the way it did, because he got to the heart of the matter. He questioned the basic Premise that Israel has a right to exist as an apartheid state.

[Katie Halper]

Right.

[Russell Brand]

He went right at that.

[Katie Halper]

And also questioned the premise of defensive versus offensive weapons. Right. Because they were talking about the Iron Dome and.

[Russell Brand]

Well, well, yeah. And the entire, the, the entire standard of. Well, didn't. If Israel has the right to do this, doesn't Hamas have the right to do that? Like the, these are third rails. They're gonna come after Skahill.

[Katie Halper]

Oh yeah, they already have. But again, they're such idiots. That's the thing. They're such idiots. Like they don't even know that they're. Again, it's kind of like when people mention. And I don't. I've not seen any evidence of this, but the, you know that the population has, has increased in Gaza or. So how could it be a genocide? But like all they're saying is I don't know the definition of genocide because genocide does not actually require population to decrease. I mean, we need to just make a sign. I feel like every single time. I can't stand when people say it's not genocide because it's just such a. I hate like the combination of condescension and stupid and rank stupidity or just lying out of your like literally the idea that some random Zionist or like contrarian knows more about genocide than like the near consensus of genocide scholars. Then, you know, what is it? Is it Beth Selim, the Israeli? I don't, I'm trying not, I'm not trying to elevate Jewish voices over non Jewish, but like by their game, are they a self loathing human rights organization? This Jewish Israeli organization that says it's a genocide? You know, like, well, well I, I'm,

[Russell Brand]

I'm sure like myself you have spoken to Zionists and yes, that is what they will say.

[Misty Winston]

Yeah, right.

[Russell Brand]

They're capos.

[Katie Halper]

Oh yeah, yeah, that's. Yeah, yeah. They call me capo Katie. They think it's very clever alliteration.

[Russell Brand]

Capo Cat.

[Katie Halper]

Yeah.

[Misty Winston]

Again, thank you so much for tuning into the Jimmy Dore Show. I'm your guest host for today, Misty Winston. And I have a. The last few times I've been guest hosting, I've been trying to call attention to and cover the crazy levels of surveillance that is currently going up and happening all around us right now. I feel like it is a grossly undercovered story and again, I know that there's a lot happening right now, but I feel like people are so distracted that they're not paying attention to the fact that we. It's, it is really terrifying what is happening right now. And we've talked numerous times on the show as I've guest hosted about the Flock camera system, the supposed license plate readers that are way more than that. But I wanted to call attention to something that happened here recently. And this is the Flock CEO and he says you can see here, quote, unfortunately there's terrorist organizations like D. Flock, who I have mentioned on this show and plugged on this show and will continue to do so, whose primary motivation is chaos. They're closer to antifa than they are anything else. And really your detractors are anti fascist and he has a problem with that. I mean, that really says it all. So deflock is genuinely just an open source project that maps the license plate readers and educates people about what they do, the kind of information that they're collecting, that kind of stuff. And nobody here is, I think, unaware. Jimmy Dore's audience is incredibly smart and tuned in. So I don't doubt that you guys already know what's happening with Flock, But I feel like we need to talk about it more. I feel like we need to fight against it harder. Like, this is a very terrifying prospect. So I'm going to play you this video so you can hear in his own words what he thinks about you if you are against what he is doing with Flock cameras, because it's pretty disturbing.

[Garrett Langley]

Organizations like the ACLU and the EFF who take an above aboard approach to fight for their point of view. And thankfully we live in a beautifully democratic, capitalistic country where we can fight in court. And I have a lot of respect for those groups because they have reasonable debates and we follow the law. And then unfortunately there's terroristic organization organizations like deflog whose primary motivation is chaos. They are closer to antifa than they are anything else. And that I think is unfortunate because we don't want chaos or I don't want chaos. I like law and order. I like a society that has a bedrock of safety. So for those groups, I think it's just disappointing that they haven't chosen a more constructive mannerism to try to get what they want, which they have a right to have. But that's why we have a democratically elected process, right? Like we're not forcing Flock on anyone. Elected officials know that as a. As a community, you want to be safe.

[Misty Winston]

You want to be safe. Guys, he's providing safety. Bullshit. This little twerp. Sorry, this makes me mad. He makes me mad. All of this makes me very angry. These. These cameras are everywhere, y'. All. I first noticed One in my town, I live in, in small town Ohio. I noticed the first one in my town maybe like six months ago. And since then they are everywhere. I have seen dozens of them in the most ridiculous places too by the way. They're not just on major roadways or thoroughfares or whatever. They have them on playgrounds. They have them in the like. There's no license plates in a playground. They're not license plate readers. They are surveillance. This is a surveillance network, period. End of story. This is facial recognition. This is all of the things that we have been talking about and fearing for a very long time. This is the stuff that Whitney Webb has been talking about. This is the stuff that Ryan Christian has been talking about from the Last American Vagabond. This is the stuff that Steve Poykinen from Slow News date. Been a ton of people talking about this for a very long time and here it is. The reality is upon us right now. And by the way, this is deflock, the terrorist organization and this is their website. You can go to their website. I highly recommend that you do go to their website. If you see a camera in your town you can report it to them and they will add it to their map. I'm going to show you a map a little bit later that shows the dramatic increase of these cameras across the country. It is terrifying how fast they are going up. However, it is good news. They're coming down pretty quickly. Quick too. I'm just saying there's some people who are. They're coming down. They're coming down too. There's some towns who are having some issues now. The, the good news is is that there have been some communities and that's why I want to talk about this because I feel like we need to get more activated on this issue. And again, I'm not a big fan of electoral politics but I do feel like if you live in a town where you can go to your, you know, little town hall meeting or whatever it is and really push and pressure your city councils there. There have been places where they have been effective in getting their local area to de affiliate with flock and that's temporary. Like they're going to keep going. Like they're going to keep pushing this issue. They're going to keep trying to put these things up all around us. So it's going to have to be something that we remain hyper vigilant about. Just another thing that we're going to have to fight for. But these cameras are insane. They do not need to be anywhere near Our communities. It's crazy. So. But in that video he mentions the aclu. So I wanted to bring this up because these turds lie all the time. So this article, I would recommend you. I'm only going to share a bit of it, but in this article, the ACLU talks about the various ways that these turds lie. To local town hall meetings, to local governments, to, like, different locations where, I mean, Menards, Walmart, all of these places have contracts with Flock. They lie to them about what they're doing, what they're collecting, how they're being used. I know that Jimmy has covered on the show recently the way they're being misused and how cops are using them to stalk people. There's a whole heap of bad that comes along with this stuff. So the ACLU just wanted to bring to your attention that these douche canoes lie all the time. And including, by the way, he says, the aclu, oh, they're so above board. They're so great. They lie about partnering with the ACLU too. So this says here from this article, and this is at the end of the article again, please go read the whole thing. Flock has even made false claims to the public and elected officials about working with the aclu. Earlier this year, after the ACLU of New Mexico and Flocks supported the same state level ALPR legislation, albeit for very different reasons, Flock's senior director of public affairs took to social media to claim that Flock partnered with the ACLU of New Mexico to craft the bill and pass it. So these are the tweets that he put out. This is Trevor Chandler and he says in New Mexico, Flock partnered with the ACLU of New Mexico and law enforcement partners to craft a bill that balanced both community safety and community values. It is important to note that public safety tech doesn't only protect the public, but law enforcement themselves doesn't protect either. Believe it. Flock, ACLU and M and immigrant rights groups came together to pass a serious data privacy bill. Don't believe the ideologues who say safety and privacy can't be balanced. I'm proud to work on a team that's engaging in serious conversations to keep both communities and privacy safe. Full of shit. This was not the first time the ACLU has caught Flock falsely claiming to have worked with us. During an Urbana, Illinois City council meeting in 2021. The company told council members 23 minutes into the discussion that, quote, flock has worked with groups like the ACLU to design an ALPR system that takes considerations they have into account. End quote. That's a lie. To be clear, neither the ACLU nor any of our affiliates have ever partnered with Flock Safety or worked with them to design any ALPR system. As an organization that has spent 106 years earning our good name and reputation, we can confidently advise Flock that lying to the public and elected officials about your work and your relationship is not how you get there. I love that little dig that they threw in. Ultimately, reputable governments should not do business with disreputable companies. That's a bar. While governments should think long and hard about not using ALPRs, if local governments insist on doing so, at bare minimum, they should adopt strong guardrails governing future ALPR use, including strictly limiting data retention, data sharing, and what crimes they could be used to enforce. And of course, they should refuse to partner with any company that regularly misleads the public, elected officials and even its own customers. And as Jason Bassler points out here, this is by the way, Garrett Langley is the name of the CEO. I don't know if I said his name. Garrett Langley. That's his name. He says Flock cameras can scan up to 20 billion plates a month. Tell me again how this isn't a nationwide tracking system. It is. And he has this meme here. That's a nice fourth Amendment you got there. It would be a shame if I violated it 20 billion times a month because that is what Flock is doing. This is a gross violation of our constitutional rights. It's crazy that it's happening out loud in broad daylight at the rate that it's happening. But again, this is, this is what happens when you allow them to slow walk this stuff. They never do this stuff overnight. It is a gradual chipping away of your rights. They're very effective at it. And just so you know, these people have names and faces, so. Jason Basler posted. This is the Flock executive team. All of their names are listed there on the bottom. They have names, they have email addresses, they have social media. I mean, obviously don't harass people. That's not a good look. But you should feel free to voice your concerns about Flock and what it is doing and the data that it is collecting. It's not an alpr. They are monitoring you in every which way. They're tracking you everywhere that you go. It's not even effective. There's been numerous cases where it has been used to harass and detain and arrest innocent people based on dubious evidence. It's happened numerous times. It's insane and it is a gross violation of our privacy. So I did want To. Oh, I got to pull this back up. Sorry. When I had to bounce out, one of my video froze. I had to. I forgot to pull this back up, Guys. Look at that, Y'.

[Katie Halper]

All.

[Misty Winston]

That's crazy to even think about.

[Katie Halper]

This is.

[Misty Winston]

Over the course of just two years. I'm gonna play it again just so you can see how significant this is. I mean, that's terrifying to me. I can't. I can't even wrap my head around how quickly that has developed and how fast these things have popped up all over the country. And it's just. It's just going to keep happening. Like, I mean, if you. If we look at this, in two more years, the entire country is going to be covered with these things, and we. I mean, I cannot express how deeply we need to fight against that happening. These people do not have your best interests at mind. They do not care about keeping you safe. They do not care about solving crimes or helping law enforcement. That's not what this is about. I think everybody here knows that this is a surveillance state. Like a legitimate, terrifying, hardcore surveillance state. And so, again, I'm going to hype D Flock again. And listen, there's multiple websites and organizations that are tracking Flock that are. I mean, and it's not just Flock. There are other camera systems and all of that stuff. We've talked about that here on the show. I just. Just. He's the guy. He's the turd that spoke up and called us terrorists. So we're going to talk about Flock. But D Flock is a great website. They've been doing a great job of trying to track these things, educate people about what they are, all of that good stuff. If you want to get involved with D Flock, but you're not sure how, you can go to dflock.org backslash groups. You can find a local group. If you don't have one, start one. This is how you can get organized in your local communities to go to those meetings and push back on these things being installed in your communities. It's a great way to, you know, try to fight back against this stuff. They're also doing a national week of action. So August 16th through the 22nd, they're going to have a national day of action. And the list of cities participating is growing. So if you would, or if you're interested in that, or if you want to see if there's an event in your area, you can go to no a l p r s.com backslash participation. You can also just go to deflock.org, i think they have a link to it there as well. And then they also have. This is a very helpful. And this is a little personal story. There's a church just down the street from me and my neighbor goes to that church and he told me, because we talk sometimes about some of our conspiracy stuff and all of that, all the world goings on and whatever. And he told me that the church was considering having a flock camera placed on their property. So I am going to, I tried to go down and get a meeting with them but the. I don't know if it's a. I'm an atheist, I don't go to church. I don't know if it's like a board or whatever. There's like a group of people that run the church business and they're, they're, I think two of them are on a mission trip. So they are not doing any new business or anything for a while. So when they get back, I'm going to schedule a meeting with them and this is going to be very helpful for me because I would like to go in incredibly informed. So they have, they're starting to put together talking points, research, frequently asked questions, all of those other types of resources. So if you want to go and speak at one of your, your, you know, local town halls or if you want, if you, if you have a church, then they're thinking about putting one of these things on the property or if they have one on your kids school or whatever it is and you want to go and you want to have those conversations. This will help you get really educated so that you know what you're talking about when you go into it because that's obviously the best way to go about it. So please check out Deflock. It's dflock.org push back against this stuff. It's incredibly terrifying. I don't even begin to know how we stop it. I'm not sure that we can. They want to, they want to do this stuff. They're going to do this stuff. I think that's, it's really difficult for us to fight back against this stuff effectively. But we have to try. I feel. I think we have to try. So again, go to deflock.org also. I mean there's plenty of people covering this. My personal favorite is Jason Basler. He's been doing great work on this so you can go and follow him as well. But there's plenty of people covering it who have been covering it. The Whitney Webs and all the people I mentioned earlier. And they've been on this for years. This is not a new thing. This has been around for a very long time. But as you saw from that map, it is significantly increasing fast. It's really fast. It's terrifying. So please go and check out their work as well.

[Keaton]

Welcome to the Jimmy Dore show, everybody. Keaton and Kurt in for Jimmy while he is away. So this has been going on now for quite a while. There's been a lot of intrigue around the the whereabouts of Mitch McConnell. McConnell's health emergency sparks questions on whether he will return to the Senate. This is from a few days ago. Emergency dispatch audio indicating that someone at Senator Mitch McConnell's home in Washington D.C. suffered cardiac arrest earlier this month has raised questions about when the former GOP leader will return to the Senate or whether he will return at all. McConnell's office has provided few details about his health status, but reported a few days ago that he quote, appreciates the outpouring of support he's receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital. His office on Thursday also said the 84 year old senator quote, continues to improve and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session. But the scant detail about what sent him to the hospital on June 14th combined with the alarming audio from an emergency dispatcher has fueled speculation that McConnell's condition is much worse than his staff has acknowledged. So here is the audio several minutes after the initial call to the dispatch ems. So let's take a listen.

[Misty Winston]

Communications, can you start me a supervisor CPR in progress.

[Kurt]

Okay.

[Ro Khanna]

EMS.

[Misty Winston]

EMS 2 respond for cardiac arrest 217 C3 no TCL Cinchani. EMS 2 response for cardiac arrest 217 C3 no TCNC, Charlie Cruz of 2nd street in Charlie 11843 Medic trigger VMS 2 coming.

[Keaton]

All right, but you know Washington is in damage control mode. Here's Scott Jennings revealing details from his 17 minute phone call today with Mitch McConnell from the hospital. Yeah, he called me this morning before I did that radio on my radio show. We talked for about 17 minutes. He claims they talked about Iran, Ukraine and what's going on in Europe.

[Kurt]

Why does he have a radio show

[Scott Jennings]

before I did my video?

[Keaton]

What's the name of it? Salem Media. The, the, the Israel backed show there. Yeah, I mean that, that's where the real money is, not in cnn. You got to get that, get those real shekels on the Israeli radio.

[Scott Jennings]

Yeah, he called me this morning before I did my radio show. We talked for about 17 minutes. You know, he talked a lot about the situation with Iran. Talked a little bit about Ukraine and what's going on in Europe. I told him I'd been to the Teddy Roosevelt Library. We talked a little bit about the history of the Vice presidency and how Roosevelt that and modern presidency. A little history. The Senate.

[Kurt]

Is that really what they did?

[Scott Jennings]

I mean, it was a, you know, it was a wide ranging conversation.

[Keaton]

I talk actually. He's actually joining the DS. He's joining DSA. He, he told me he's working on a seven part series on Portuguese colonialism in 16th century Indonesia. He's very excited about that. I'm surprised. Yeah. Why don't you ask me about that?

[Kurt]

I could be at home crushing right now.

[Keaton]

It's three in the afternoon.

[Kurt]

Oh my God. I'm gonna take another swig off my jar of Bloody Mary and then I'm going to go fuck my wife. Good day

[Scott Jennings]

to him. Often I hadn't talked to him since he'd been in. I'd gotten a few text messages from, but I hadn't spoken to him. So it was good to hear his voice. Voice sounded strong and sounded like he was keeping up with the news to me.

[Misty Winston]

Did you ask how he was feeling?

[Kurt]

And the old.

[Scott Jennings]

Yeah, he said, you know, he said he was feeling okay. You know, obviously well enough to call me on the phone and obviously well enough to talk to Barrasso and Thune. Now, look, I'm not qualified to discuss any, any medical issues or give you any information about that that's really for him or his, his staff to do, but, you know, I talk to him.

[Keaton]

Not like this is a new show or anything. Not like I comment on the news. You think if I have something value to report, like the health status of a senator heading into a campaign season with the deadline to replace him in a special election coming up in less than a month. You know, it's not like I'm gonna comment on that, that. I'm just going to tell you what I talked about with him. Like the history of the Vice presidency. Yeah, yeah, that's. That's a newsworthy question here.

[Kurt]

I'm sure, I'm sure that's what was on Mitch's mind after a heart attack.

[Keaton]

After a heart attack. Yeah.

[Kurt]

I was just thinking about the vice presidency history. Oh, me too.

[Keaton]

Yeah.

[Scott Jennings]

All right.

[Kurt]

We didn't talk about anything else.

[Keaton]

Yeah, we didn't talk about anything else. That's it. That's it. I have nothing else. I have nothing else to say. I don't even know why.

[Kurt]

Being honest.

[Keaton]

Yeah, exactly. I don't even know why I brought up that I talked to him. It seems like a bad idea in retrospect because now people are going to think I'm bullshitting about what we talked about, because I am.

[Scott Jennings]

I mean, I see him from time to time and, you know, we had a conversation today about the things that we normally talk about, which are news of the day, political stuff.

[Misty Winston]

Did you come away feeling like he's still capable of serving the people?

[Kurt]

I heard you had a heart attack.

[Scott Jennings]

Came away feeling that he was staying on top of the news again. I look his, his.

[Keaton]

I asked him what he was wearing. I was, I was curious because, you know, he's in hospital. Hospital attire. I asked him if he tied the back of his hospital gown or if you could see his ass crack. Straight away he said he did not. That was very hot. That was very hot. I was getting changed for the show. I was. My usual, you know, suit and blue tie condition.

[Scott Jennings]

And why he's in the hospital or when he might come out or. Look, that's, that's.

[Misty Winston]

Do you know why and are just saying you're not a. Liberty to share.

[Scott Jennings]

I do not know why. I only know, frankly, what has been reported or what his office has said. So this was, it was a personal, private call. But, but I didn't, I didn't probe him too deeply for his medical records.

[Keaton]

It's a personal, private call. I just made it so I can come out here and tell you that he's not dead. But I'm not going to tell you beyond that anything that we talked about, like how is he doing? You know, constituents.

[Kurt]

Anyway, missiles. Like, who needs to know this? Who's voting for him? No, I can't imagine actual people live in the district where he is.

[Keaton]

Yeah, well, well, nobody anymore. He. He's retiring. So here's the thing. He's retiring this year. There's going to be an election in Kentucky in November. But if he should die or be considered like brain dead or incapacitated before August 3, then they have to have a special election, not just the November election. And so the theory is they're afraid that if that should happen, maybe Thomas Massie would run in the special election which would step on the November election because at that point he could win before then, whereas now they have this guy, Andy Barr, who's running. So that's, that's the theory is that they, they are stalling until August 3rd because if he is pronounced dead after August 3rd, then they just wait until the November election anyway. And they're all good. So that's, that's, that, that's the, that's the theory is that it's, it's weekend at Mitch's now for the next three and a half weeks, they're going to have to pretend that this guy is not dead.

[Kurt]

How many of these is it? They're piling up.

[Keaton]

Yeah, there's a lot of dead people.

[Kurt]

Diane Feinstein, I remember was unreal. That was like you could actually see the puppet.

[Keaton]

Like, no, they're going to have a lot of dead people in the House and the Senate now. In fact, maybe we can issue a Force the vote campaign around dead people. You know, if there's going to be soon, there will be enough dead people in Congress to force a vote for Medicare for all. You know, if everyone who's dead in the House promises not to vote for the next speaker unless they offer a Medicare for all vote, then we can make this happen. So maybe we should have start a campaign. We should start petitioning our dead elected officials. That's what we want them to do. Nothing to lose. Yeah, exactly.

[Kurt]

Yeah. I want a law where you just have to hold a mirror under their nose before every vote.

[Keaton]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. So here's, what's her name, Casey Hunt, kind of calling his bluff here a little bit. She asks Scott Jennings if he can call Mitch, if he can call Mitch McConnell right now to, you know,

[Katie Halper]

To call into the show. Could we get him on the phone now?

[Scott Jennings]

You know, I wasn't really expecting him to call this morning, to be honest. So when the phone rang and I was able to talk to him, I was, I was frankly pretty grateful. I mean, as I, as I said,

[Keaton]

I've known him since I was not what she asked. She asked, can you call him now? Let's, let's watch that one more time.

[Misty Winston]

Do you think he'd be willing to

[Katie Halper]

call into the show? Could we get him on the phone now?

[Scott Jennings]

You know, I wasn't.

[Keaton]

We're trying to make sure he's alive, you know, United States Senator. We're trying to make sure he's not dead.

[Scott Jennings]

I was able to talk.

[Keaton]

He can get him on the phone. Wow.

[Scott Jennings]

I mean, as I, as I said, I've known him since I was a teenager.

[Keaton]

I think that would be.

[Kurt]

Ew. You noticed that you were a teenager. That. Guilty. Okay, wait, wait. That laugh. Do we need to have a butt? I know Jimmy's gonna want a button of that laugh that he did after she asked that. That's the one you don't have an answer. Laugh. That was.

[Keaton]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Oh, Ace laugh. Yeah. Well, you know, like I said, mystery is, is mounting here. Republican Congressman says he doesn't know if Mitch McConnell is alive. Here's Representative Stutzman, I believe, from Indiana. From Indiana. Let's take a look. A senator from Kentucky voting in the Senate chamber.

[Misty Winston]

Do you know that he's alive?

[Keaton]

I don't.

[Scott Jennings]

You know, the.

[Russell Brand]

Just the things that I've heard and

[Keaton]

seen from some friends is that he's obviously not doing well, but don't know if he's alive or has passed away. Are you allowed to. Anybody watching? Are you allowed to call out of work, dead. Are you allowed to just, you know, disappear?

[Kurt]

I heard he was kidnapped.

[Keaton]

Whether or not you're dead. Dead, that's, that's a good excuse, I guess, to miss work is if you might or might not be dead. But that.

[Kurt]

Kidnapped by God.

[Keaton]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Iced by God. The Honorable Mitch McConnell. Okay, so this was a letter that the governor of the state, Andy Beshear, sent inquiring as to the status of Mitch McConnell. Now, Kentucky is one of these very rare states where it's a very Republican state, but they have a Democratic governor. And so when the Democratic governor was voted in, the legislature actually changed the law, which does not allow the governor to appoint a replacement for a dead Republican senator because the Democrat will appoint a Democrat when a Republican just died. So he is not empowered to appoint someone in place of Mitch McConnell. But there is this deadline coming up August 3rd that determines whether or not a special election can take place.

[Kurt]

Place.

[Keaton]

So, dear Senator McConnell, over the last several weeks, Kentuckians have grown increasingly concerned about the current state of your health and well being and ability to hold office in the United States Senate. As governor, I request that you fully update Kentuckians regarding the current status of your health. As public office holders, we have made a commitment to our constituents to do our best to represent them and almost to be transparent. I believe this requires clear communication about one's ability to serve. We wish you a safe and speedy recovery. So here is how things can proceed. Based on how things transpire over the next few weeks, Adam Cochran tweets. There are at least two reasons they might not want to update us on McConnell's condition. In Kentucky, a special election to replace a Senator will not be called if it's closer than three months till the next election. That date is August 3rd. If McConnell's condition is clearly unfit for office, they'd hide that to avoid Being forced to submit a resignation letter until after that date. If McConnell has not regained consciousness or has the chance of oxygen induced brain death and is on artificial life support, they would try. And in Kentucky, brain death is legally considered death under Kentucky Revised Status 4, 4, 6, 400. So I guess you can be legally dead in Kentucky. Just like you could be legally blind, but not entirely blind. You could be legally.

[Kurt]

Yeah. Do you think that it'll be like. Now, I'm not hoping for this because that would be wrong, but like a real drawn out Terry schiavo thing with McConnell.

[Keaton]

Yeah, they'll have. Exactly.

[Kurt]

He's alive. No, he's not alive.

[Keaton]

That's the only way this could be. Yeah, that's the only way this could get more like darkly funny is if it becomes a Terry Schiavo thing where you have all these preachers come on TV and advocate. No. Should be kept alive. Of course you should not put him until.

[Kurt]

And then, and then they drop it the day after the deadline.

[Keaton]

A life is a Life. And then August 4th. All right, that's it. Get him out of here.

[Kurt]

Because how could they, after the deadline, say he's dead, Brain dead even. How could they even get away with that after?

[Keaton]

Because I guess they figure it's Kentucky, like we're going to win the seat, so whatever. Like there's, there's no political price to pay because you're right. Like it's the most transparently cynical thing you can do is it's just, just hide him until August 4th and then announce dead.

[Kurt]

Suddenly he was getting better.

[Keaton]

You know, he held out. He, he persevered. He persevered. He, he, he, he fought to keep Thomas Massie out of the Senate. He refused to die as long as Thomas Massey had a chance of running for Senate. That was enough to keep him going. That's how evil Massey is. Is that Mitch McConnell kept going. Yeah.

[Kurt]

McConnell made time to call his former teenage boy companion turned radio host.

[Keaton]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Kurt]

Well, what could be cooler than hanging out with Mitch McConnell as a teenage

[Keaton]

boy called and reminisced about our time we met on Epstein.

[Garrett Langley]

Yeah.

[Keaton]

So it gets even crazier. Any two independent physicians may declare the patient dead for the purposes of the seat being vacated if the patient is only alive due to a ventilator and artificial life support system. So this would explain why nobody's allowed to know what's going on.

[Kurt]

Because getting quantum now, even if he's

[Keaton]

not dead, right, if he's like in an iron lung or something like that, then that counts as Schrodinger's Mitch. Yeah, Schrodinger's Mitch, exactly. Schrodinger's Wildcat, as they would say in Kentucky. But yeah, if, if it's discovered that he's being propped up, you know, artificially, then they could declare him dead. So that's why no one is allowed to know anything but his next of kin, Chow. So his wife, Elaine Chao, would need to be involved in the process of treatment and testing and final decisions to end support for that path to be viable. So his wife would be involved in the decision making as to whether or not he could be legally be declared dead for purpose. His Asian wife, United States Senate.

[Kurt]

Well, yeah, Chinese wife from Taiwan.

[Keaton]

She lambed it to China three days after his hospitalization. So she's not available. She's not available to make any kind of decision like that. She just happened to split for China three days after her 84 year old husband had a heart attack. Yeah, well, I. She's not nearly that old. She's not.

[Kurt]

Her sister died from backing into the lake. Her, her lost control of her car suddenly and reversed into the lake by their property. Remember that?

[Keaton]

I don't remember that.

[Kurt]

Oh, there's so much weirdness around Mitch McConnell where, where to even begin?

[Keaton]

Elaine Chow, 73. 73. All right.

[Kurt]

I thought she was life left in her. That old bird. She could find a man now.

[Keaton]

I thought she was younger. I thought she was like 55 and he was 84. I thought he was a pimp. Mitch McConnell. I guess not. I guess 73 is not.

[Kurt]

I bought her from a.

[Keaton]

Yeah. So is McConnell alive and well? Is he awake and functional? Is he a vegetable? Either way, I think they are trying to make sure we don't have the answer to that until after August 3rd. I think you're right. Well, it's getting a little harder now.

[Kurt]

Oh, her in China. Not to have to talk to people. Right.

[Keaton]

She doesn't want to be reached so that she doesn't have to decide to put them on a ventilator or take them off life support or whatever. Like if she can't be reached, then there's no next of kin to raise, reach out to, to, to figure out what to do with him. They're trying to drag this limbo I like.

[Kurt]

Oh, she killed him. I'm totally off. That's what it is.

[Keaton]

Yeah, yeah. No, it's, it's to stall for time. No, if she killed him, that would be very bad for the Republican party because then Massey could run. Yeah. The goal is they, they, they they don't want nothing bad happening to him for the next three and a half weeks.

[Kurt]

Yeah, he's one of the best.

[Keaton]

Exactly. Yeah, he's one of the best. That's the thing. Thing. He's the guy. He's one of the thorns in Trump's side, too. Like they talk about, this just shows you where their true priorities lie. You know, McConnell has voted against so many of the Trump appointees. McConnell really soured on Trump after January 6th. So it's not like McConnell is a Trump ally. But the bosses, that is the Israelis, do not want Thomas Massie in the Senate. So even if you are against Trump, they'd rather have you there. Then give Thomas Massie an opening to possibly make a run for it.

[Kurt]

And they're smart to make it where it has to be total compliance and not even a fake show that some people are against it. Very smart move by them. And that's why they're doing so well in this conflict.

[Keaton]

Right? Exactly. Exactly. But things got a little harder for them because this morning, video surfaced from a neighbor of Mitch McConnell being loaded into an ambulance without any kind of ventilator or respirator, mask or whatever they, they put on people when they're in. In dire straits. So let's take a look at this video footage. Clash Report clipped it from CNN. So there you go. Emergency responders took Senator Mitch McConnell to an ambulance on a stretcher after being called to his home last month for a report of an unconscious person. According to new video of the incident and an eyewitness account, a neighbor of McConnell told CNN that they opened their door to find commotion outside their home at around 8.30am on June 14, with two ambulances, a fire truck, and Capitol Police officers blocking the entire street. The neighbor said they asked officers what was going on, and the officers responded that there had been a, quote, medical emergency. But when the Neighbor inquired if McConnell was having a medical emergency, officers said they would block the street, treat for anybody. The neighbor said they learned from another eyewitness who saw the individual's face that the person on the stretcher was McConnell and he was not wearing an oxygen mask. Now, that could mean, oh, he's healthy. Yeah, it could mean one of two things. It could mean he's healthy, or it could mean he's, oh, he's getting better, you know. Yeah. It can mean the other thing, but that's China. Yeah, exactly. That's what we have on Mitch McConnell so far. So some darkly comic intrigue ahead of the home stretch of, of. Of the midterms but yeah, baby, Mitch Mitch is okay.

[Kurt]

That's how you do it in Mandarin. You go, Mitch Mitch. Like, you know, that's like putting a Y. It's like saying Mitchie Mitch. Your Mitch Mitch is better.

[Keaton]

Maybe Mitch Mitch will make it three more weeks with God's blessing.

[Kurt]

Oh, Mitch, Mitch.

[Keaton]

Yeah, exactly.

[Jimmy Dore]

Hey, become a premium member. Go to jimmy dor comedy.com sign up. It's the most affordable premium program in the business. All the voices performed today are by the one and only, the inimitable Mike McRae. He can be found at mikemcrae.com that's it for this week. You be the best you can be, and I'll keep being me. Freak out.

[Keaton]

Don't freak out.

[Misty Winston]

Don't freak out. Don't freak out.

[Keaton]

Don't freak out.

[Professor Morandi]

Don't freak out.

[Katie Halper]

Do not freak out.

[Misty Winston]

I'm not in it.

[Russell Brand]

Do not.

[Kurt]

Do not.

[Jimmy Dore]

I'm not.

[Professor Morandi]

I'm not.

[Ro Khanna]

I'm not. I'm not. I'm not.

[Misty Winston]

Freak out.

[Jimmy Dore]

Do not freak out.