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- [00:02]
Commercial Announcer
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- [00:29]
Michael Knowles
businesscredit this episode is brought to you by Good Ranchers. You know what I had for breakfast? I had a good Ranchers filet mignon with my eggs. Support the American farmers and ranchers this grilling season by going to goodranchers.com using code KNOWLES. Get free meat in every order and 100 bucks off your first three orders when you start a subscription plan. An inexpensive indie horror movie is breaking box office records, pulling in 112 times its original budget in just 12 days. And the number only goes up. And Hollywood can't figure out why this movie is running circles around all of the other movies. But I can, and the answer is pretty simple. Obsession contains more taboo truth than anything Hollywood has released in years. We will get into it without spoilers. I'll try at least. Then, speaking of taboos around the truth, a Belgian politician is convicted of a hate crime for saying something that the judge admits is true, but he's still convicted for it. And then, on the flip side of that story, leftist streamer Hasan Piker cannot figure out why so many people think that he should go to prison for committing crimes. I'm Michael Knowles. This is the Michael Knowles Show. Welcome back to this show. A woman has just pulled the ultimate trump card on a cop who pulled her over for using her phone. Here is one weird trick on how to avoid a ticket when you are driving down the road and a cop sees you texting. We'll get to that momentarily. First, though, I want to tell you about leaffilter. Go to leaffilter.com knowles k a w L E S One of the more expensive habits that people develop is trying to save money by buying cheap knockoffs of things that actually matter. Everyone has had this experience. At some point. You buy the bargain version of a charger, a tool, piece of equipment. Within six months you're replacing it because it never really worked properly in the first place. Problem is, some things around your house are too important to gamble on. That is why companies like Leaffilter exist. Leaffilter is not some generic gutter guard system trying to imitate everyone else. They've spent more than 20 years engineering and refining their product with over 50 patents behind the design. And unlike some of the cheaper knockoff systems, Leaffilter is designed to handle heavy rain and keep debris out without water pouring over the sides and collecting around your foundation. Leaffilter works because it uses a surgical grade stainless steel micro mesh system that channels water into the gutters while filtering leaves and debris out. This is one of the most important ones I saw when we bought our house. They just did not have their gutter game was weak. Okay, Very, very important to use Leaffilter. Love it. And then you don't have to think about the gutters all the time. Start protecting your home today with Leaffilter, America's number one gutter protection system. Schedule your free inspection at leaffilter.com knowles that's up to 15% off at L E A F filter.com knowles minimum purchase required Restriction Supply See representative for warranty and promotion details before we get into all the nitty gritty electoral politics, I watched a movie last night. That alone is a major annual event. I don't go see a lot of movies. Hollywood's producing garbage. All you ever see are a bunch of Marvel remakes and reboots and remakes of reboots. But there is a movie that is making headlines everywhere. It's called Obsession. It's this indie horror movie and it's gone so viral. Mr. Davies comes to me and says you have to watch this movie. I looked at the reporting on it. This thing took three weeks to shoot. It cost 750 grand to make this movie. It. It has so far grossed $84 million globally in just 12 days. On certain weekdays it is beating devil wears Prada 2 and the Michael Jackson movie. This is the first wide release horror movie ever to have its second weekend box office beat the first weekend box office. It is one of the best performing movies ever. I think the box office in the second week rose by 39% and it just keeps shooting up. So I'm gonna try to avoid the spoilers. But this mo actually really matters because there's a pretty simple reason as to why it's doing so well and Hollywood stupidly is never going to figure it out. Here, in case you haven't seen it going around social media is one of the trailers.
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Guest or Co-host
I was going to ask you what I I lost my train of thought.
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Michael Knowles
Good night what else?
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Donald Trump
One wish.
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Guest or Co-host
Will you only get one wish?
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Donald Trump
I wish Nikki Freeman loved me more
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Michael Knowles
than anyone in the entire world. I love you so, so, so, so, so much. A love only the branch of a willow tree could conjure.
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Interviewer or Moderator
It's weird how you two are dating
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Michael Knowles
all of a sudden. Like, super dating. I think Nikki is going through something.
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Guest or Co-host
Like what?
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Michael Knowles
Is she okay? No. Sheesh. What kind of spills you put on her? Okay, so the movie is about a guy who has a crush on a girl. And. And he doesn't know if the girl has a crush on him, and he's too nervous to just tell her his feelings and ask her out. So he has this novelty toy that he picks up which is called the One Wish Willow. And you make a wish and you hope your wish comes true. And the whole hook of the movie is he makes the wish and the wish comes true, and it's a horror movie. She all of a sudden completely falls in love with him. None of these are spoilers. And she becomes the craziest, clingiest girlfriend you've ever seen. So why is this movie doing so well? I'll give you the overview of what happens in the movie, just for context. This will not ruin the movie. It is unclear if she likes him. He's kind of friend zoned, but it's a little unclear. And there are all these hints that maybe she does like him, but she doesn't really say it. She says early on in the movie, she goes, you know, when I have a crush on someone nobody knows? So there's some evidence that she doesn't have a crush on him, and she views him like a little brother. But then there's some evidence that she actually does like him, and she's just keeping it really close to the vest. And in any case, he can't man up. He can't man up and just ask the girl out. So what does he do? He makes this wish. And in making this wish, he's trying to play God. He's trying to control the desires of others. And by trying to play God, he ruins everything. Because you see here a contrast between love and infatuation. Anyone who's ever been a teenager knows this difference. You say, I really, really love this girl. I'm totally head over heels in love with her. But there's this fine line. It's very unclear if it's love, love which is willing the good of the other for the person's own sake, or infatuation, infatuation, which is really not about the other person infatuation is about the self infatuation is when you, you don't really love the other person for who that person is. You just project on your own desires, your, your own needs onto the other person. So it's really a totally self referential love. And it works. So it works so much so that the woman becomes more like a pet dog than like a real girlfriend or a wife. And there's a scene that makes this part really, really clear. Then you see all of these relationship dynamics play out. So I think the reason why this is working, it's really twofold. One, it's an original story and Hollywood doesn't make original stories anymore. Hollywood just makes devil wears Prada 2 just cash grab 2. 20 years after the last time we had a hit movie we're gonna make, we're just gonna do it again. And it won't be as good, but you'll still go see it. You'll still eat this slop. Millennials, give us your money. Devilverse, Prada 2. Or more commonly what you get is just Superman 57 or Spider Girl or whatever. Just this constant re upping of the superhero movies, the plots of which are all exact. You know exactly what you're gonna get. There's very little that's artistic about it. They just add an extra explosion every movie. Part of it is that it's an original movie. The other reason, I think the deeper reason why it's working is because it's real. And it's a sad sign of our times that the most realistic movie that any of us have seen in probably a decade or more is this kind of wacky weird horror movie. But it's real and it's touching on something that's really central to the human condition, which is the dynamic between men and women. And, and don't forget we live in an age that is particularly confused about the natural dynamic between men and women. We live in an age where we redefine marriage for the first time ever in all of human history anywhere. We live in an age where some people still believe that men can become women. And we have this officially ubiquitously enforced nonsense fiction about men and women, something that we all know isn't true. This is why Republicans swept the elections in 2024. This is why Democrats are still on their heels even when the other party is in power, is because of this problem of wokeness and these really fundamental issues. By golly, these Democrats, I don't know, maybe they could manage the economy better, but I don't think they could because they don't even know the difference between men and women. They have this error in judgment. And this movie is all about the real dynamics between men and women. And so when this woman becomes just a totally crazy girlfriend, you see real dynamics play out. If you've dated enough people, you've had this experience once or twice. Maybe some of you are in this dynamic right now where the girl that you like, she's attractive, she's nice, she's funny, you start dating, she gets a little bit clingy. She gets a little bit clingy. So one of the moments in the movie, one of the real turning points is when the boyfriend gets invited out to a boys night. Any guy who's ever dated a woman, any guy who's ever been married, knows boys night is kind of controversial these days where you say, no, no, look, I love you, it's wonderful, but there's more to my life. And I want to go sometimes I want to go hang out with the guys. And some women don't really like that. Sometimes it's a little bit of a negotiation. Part of the reason that the movie's working is because with this crazy now horror figure, almost kind of demon possessed, clingy girlfriend, it's because women really do be like that sometimes. So the movie is, in a way, I mentioned possession. Cause it is kind of like possession, but it's not just like, you know, a demon comes out of hell and possesses this woman. It's not the exorcist or the exorcism of Emily Rose. It's even more interesting than that. Because this woman is possessed by the desires of the man, but because the man is not God, because we're just men, we're fallen men. When we project our desires onto other people, when we possess people with our desires, things go haywire. You better be careful what you wish for. You get things that you don't really want. It goes even further than this because you can see a little bit of conflict within the kind of love mad possessed woman. And the guy who starts to regret his decision pretty quickly. Then there's even a correction where he says, well, do I really regret this? I mean, I do really love this girl. I'm not gonna go too much further into that. Cause I don't wanna spoil the movie, but there's a line here that I'll clean up a little bit. So I don't give away a plot point. But the crazy woman, when she's totally gone off the rails and you can tell he's really second guessing his decision. He says, we need each other. We need each other. And then she tries to bring him in on some of the really bad stuff. And even this is so true, rings so true. Because when a man and woman do that thing that husbands and wives are supposed to do, when a man and a woman join together in matrimony, they really become one flesh. And so the movie is all the kind of crazy, wacky bad things that the mad woman does. They really are the fault of the man. This hearkens back to the book of Genesis where Eve is the first one to eat the apple. And yet the fall of man comes through Adam. It actually is the man's fault. It's all touching on really real things. Another, a little more superficial reason why I think the movie's doing really well is there's no DEI in it whatsoever. Okay? Real friend groups generally do not look like the United Nations. I know. You know, it's not. Real friend groups are not like in typical Hollywood, modern Hollywood movies where you got the white guy and the black guy and the Asian person and the Hispanic person and the gay guy and the tranny and the midget and the this and the. It's not this perfect DEI forced woke representation. In this movie, the friend group is two white guys, a white chick and an Asian chick. It's totally normal. And then they go to the party and there's like, there's a black guy there and there's this and that. But it's not this forced DEI representation. It just rings true. It rings real. And the fact that Obsession is doing so well is a profound indictment of Hollywood. Hollywood. These guys are supposed to be really good at making money on movies, but increasingly they're not so good at making money on movies. So much so that some 26 year old upstart director can spend three quarters of a million bucks and make a gazillion dollars at the box office and totally pants all of Hollywood. I guess the significance of this movie is that it really is marking the end of the woke era. Just like the 2024 election marked the end of the woke era in politics. For now, this movie is marking the end of the woke era in Hollywood. Even as the Hollywood industry, all the different industry groups were trying to impose all these crazy woke requirements. The Oscars were doing this. You can't win Best Picture unless you check a bunch of DEI boxes. The unions were doing this. The casting directors were doing this. This movie kind of throws all of that out. It's really, really good. I'm never enthusiastic about Almost anything in the pop culture. It's terrific. If you like horror movies, I don't wanna make this out to be the Casablanca or the Godfather or something. It's a fun little horror movie, but it's a fun little horror movie that touches on really basic, profound things. And it rings true for people for the same reason that Aesop's fables ring true, for the same reason that the Greek myths ring true. Because they touch on parts of human nature that we all know. And the reason it's playing so well right now is we live in a time when we're supposed to deny all those basic parts. Highly, highly recommend mark this date. It's probably the last time for many years or decades that I will say something coming out of Hollywood. Well, it doesn't really come out of Hollywood, that's the irony of it. But it's good. I'd highly recommend going to see it. Okay. Now, speaking of taboo truths, you see the flip side of this going on in Europe right now. A Belgian right wing politician has just been convicted of a crime again for telling the truth. And not only was he convicted of a crime for telling the truth, the judge who convicted him admits he was convicted for telling the truth. We'll get to that momentarily. First though, I want to tell you about my breakfast, my lunch, my dinners. I want to tell you about good Ranchers. Go to goodranchers.com, use code KNOWLES. Folks, I had a delicious breakfast this morning. I was sitting eating my nice omelette prepared by sweet little Alisa with American and cheddar cheese. I put the. I said, this is weird. There's usually a little side dish on. Where's my. It's just egg and cheese. That's okay with my coffee. Elise goes, oh, no, Mac, you know, there's a leftover good rancher steak in the fridge. And I said, this is. I'm gonna be eating better than most kings have ever eaten in the West. I'm eating better than Louis xiv the Sun King because I get my delicious good rancher steak, which is from American ranchers. It's not pumped full of a bunch of crazy stuff. It is extremely inexpensive. The prices just cannot be beat. Probably the worst job in the world is to be the CFO of good ranchers. I don't know how they do it. And most importantly, it's just so delicious. And I got it for breakfast today and I feel awesome because of it. Their chicken is great too, especially those little, the chicken nuggets. They have little chicken nuggets without seed oils, but very expensive to make, not expensive to buy for you somehow. Start your plan today. You'll get free meat included with every order, plus 100 bucks off your first three orders with my code KNOWLES. Go to goodranchers.com, use code KNOWLES at checkout. Free meat with every order and 100 bucks off your first three orders when you start your subscription plan this month. Only if you just want to try it out. Get 40 bucks off your first order with code Knowles. Instead, go to ranchers.com, american meat delivered folks. Smash that like button. Subscribe. Definitely do it on YouTube. It's great. Helps us kind of get over that algorithm where sometimes people don't always want don't always want the commentary to make it into the big algorithms. Also check us out on Spotify where you can download full episode audio and video to listen or watch whenever you want without using your data. Do not miss an episode. Dries van Langenhof. I don't know if I'm pronouncing that correctly. My Flemish is a little bit weak. He just posted yesterday that he has been convicted yet again of a hate crime. Here's the background. He writes about this himself. He says, In February 2024, I gave a lecture at Catholic University Leuven wherein I linked mass migration to crime and a deterioration of our quality of life. Every single point I made was 100% the truth and based on scientific evidence. We all know this in America. We know this. Definitely. They know this in Europe. I'm gonna be speaking at the Oxford Union next week. I'm sure mass migration and crime will come up a lot if you're around Oxford next week. I think it's gonna be next Wednesday. I hope to see you out there. I've gotta prepare for my trip to the uk. Let's see. Salaamu alaikum. My Arabic is a little weak, but I'm gonna try to master it before I the oldest English university in the world. What did this guy say? According to the judge, this is the judgment issued by the judge convicting him. Quote, even if all of the statements made by Van Langenhove are based on scientific evidence and statistics, it makes no difference to the criminal intent. Van Langenhove is not charged with spreading false information. He is charged with presenting facts in a way that incites hatred against persons on the ground of one or more of the protected criteria in the anti racism law. This is chilling. The word Orwellian is overused, but this is what it is for. We all know that in Europe, there are laws curtailing speech. And we contrast that with America, where we say we have total free speech here in America. That's why we have our First Amendment, by golly. And that actually represents a misunderstanding of the American free speech tradition, as I mentioned in my book, Speechless, Controlling Words, Controlling Minds, number one national bestseller, which you can get wherever fine books are sold, because we've had all sorts of limits on speech in the history of the United States. You're not allowed to engage in threats, you're not allowed to engage in obscenity, at least in principle. You're not allowed to engage in fraud, fighting words, all sorts of speech that. That are not protected. But in America, at least, you're protected when you tell the truth. When you just tell the truth. You cannot be prosecuted for that. Of course, in Europe, you can be prosecuted, you can be convicted for telling hate facts. That is horrifying, and that is a total undermining of the point of speech. Because the reason that we don't allow certain speech in America is that there are certain uses of our speech, abuses of our speech that actually undermine speech. I was doing this debate with Mehdi Hasan, the left wing pundit at Dartmouth, a debate that I won by six points, by the way, just in case anybody was counting, you know, anyone wanted to know. He's the author of the book how to Win Every Argument, how to Win Every debate, which we'll have to have an asterisk now is how to win every debate except against Michael. But there was this very funny moment during that debate at Dartmouth where Mehdi's debate style is to just constantly interrupt people. He tries to debate like it's on cable news or something. But this, happily, was a formal debate where there were actually rules and there's decorum, and so those tricks weren't really working. He was still trying to speak over me a lot, though. And I said, hey, what are we doing? And he said, well, no, I'm exercising my First Amendment rights. I said, no, no, no, you don't. You can't use the First Amendment to undermine someone else's First Amendment rights. On the specific point, he was talking about how Don Lemon is now being prosecuted, or was being prosecuted under the Face act, cuz he busted into a church and he was interrupting a religious service, which is explicitly against federal law and it's not protected by the Constitution. But a lot of the liberals misunderstand this. They say, well, no, no, he's just. Don Lemon was just exercising his First Amendment rights. You say, no, no, you cannot claim First Amendment rights in order to violate the First Amendment rights of others. This is why you're not allowed to use a heckler's veto. This is why other types of speech fraud. When you use your speech to intentionally deceive people, that is not protected because it is speech that undermines the very point of free speech, even obscenity. Obscenity is an abuse of speech because obscenity appeals to the prurient interest and undermines our reason. The whole point of free speech is that we can use our reason to deliberate and come to the truth. So when you have speech that is intentionally suppressing the truth, contradicting the truth, trying to get people to misperceive the truth, that speech is not protected. In Europe now you have the opposite. You're allowed to engage in all sorts of terrible speech, all sorts of riots sometimes you're allowed to engage in all sorts of threats, which you get a lot from the migrants, but you're not allowed to tell the truth about it. If you come out and say, hey, these Muslim migrants are raping a bunch of people, you can be prosecuted for that. And you are, you are. You're suppressed by the government in the UK and in Europe. Really, really chilling. So Europe seems like it's fallen at this point. This should be a big warning sign to the United States. Whenever you are on the side of suppressing the truth, it's not as simple as the conservatives were saying it in 2016. You know, whoever here is trying to censor anybody that's anti American, that's terror. No, no, no. America censors people all the time. Censorship is good. Limits are good. Sometimes we have to be more specific. Whenever you are suppressing the truth, censoring the truth, that's the real threat. And ironically, terrifyingly, in Europe, that is precisely the kind of speech that is being suppressed. And the libs wanna bring it here as well. So on this question of free speech and censorship and being prosecuted for political activity, we now go to the flip side of this, which is Hasan Piker, this left wing streamer, he calls himself a communist. I don't think he even rises to that level. Say what you will about Karl Marx and Alger Hiss, these were at least serious people. Hasan Piker, a little bit of a less serious person, kind of Nepo baby, anchor baby, who just goes around mouthing off with a bunch of profanity to threaten the lives of ordinary conservatives. Hasan Piker received a subpoena from the federal government because he committed crimes and then used his speech to admit to committing crimes like conspiring with the Cuban government, violating federal law on his trip to Cuba. And so now he might be prosecuted. I'm not really holding my breath that he'll be prosecuted. I hope he is. I hope he's imprisoned. But Hasan Piker cannot understand why he would be prosecuted for committing crimes that he admitted to in public. But it's so strange because, like, this is not even beneficial for any of these people. Right? It's not even beneficial. And they don't get it. They don't understand it. Like, who is this for? Is the question? Is it for you? Is this helpful for you if I go to prison? No. Okay, so we're just gonna, we're gonna put a pause here and just fact check, correct him. That's 10,000 Pinocchios. It would be beneficial to imprison Hasan Piker. It would be beneficial in just about every way I can think of. I see absolutely no downside to it at all. This guy's terrible for our country. He hates our country. He's working with our adversaries, allegedly to undermine our country. Well, I say allegedly, I should say, admittedly, cuz he talks about it openly on air and he's just awful. He's terribly, really should not be in this country anyway. And he's just dreadful. And if we could deport him, that'd be great. At the very least we can imprison him for the crimes he's committing. It would benefit us. One less Hasan Piker in public life sent Hasan Piker back to private life, ideally the privacy of a prison cell. That would benefit everybody. But what's so funny, what reveals his ignorance, at the very least, A real blind spot here about Hasan Piker's view is he doesn't even understand what the justice system is for. He's reverting to this utilitarian calculus that is typical of so many leftists, where he says, well, how does it benefit you to enforce the law? How does justice benefit you? First of all, justice benefits all of us because justice advances the common good. But you don't punish someone because of some utilitarian calculus of a cost benefit analysis of the increasing the utils and the happiness for the greatest good of the greatest number of people. The law punishes you because you broke the law. The chief aim of law enforcement is retribution. You did something wrong, so we punish you. We think of it today, even many conservatives, as rehabilitation. The whole point of the justice system is rehabilitation. We call it the corrections system. But that's not the chief aim of it, cuz we could all use some rehabilitation. But we don't all therefore go to prison. It's a fallen world. We all commit sins. We're all sinners, all of us, but we don't all go to prison. The thing that triggers you going to prison is when you break the law, says, well, how does this benefit you? Well look, this is a guy who's calling for the murder of Republican senators. I think it actually there are a lot of practical benefits to him being in prison and not speaking. He's allegedly admittedly working with our adversaries around to subvert our country. It says America deserved 9, 11. He hates our country and wants our country to be weaker. So we all benefit if he knocks it off. But the reason you are being punished potentially, Hasan, I actually, I hope he is, but I'm not holding my breath. The reason you would be being punished is because you did something wrong. And there are laws which are relatively objective. Laws are an ordinance of reason for the common good by him who is care of the community and promulgated those laws. The civil laws derive from the natural law. The natural law is man's participation in the eternal law. And we have self government which allows us to craft our own civil laws. That's one of the basic charges of American citizens. And you broke it and you bragged about breaking it and now you're gonna be punished. And it actually doesn't even matter if your public podcast is the most beneficial thing to humanity. It's certainly not, but that actually doesn't matter. The libs fundamentally do not understand and do not want to understand not just our constitutional system, but like even what the law is. And I think with him, he actually is just ignorant. But I'm reminded of this meme that goes around which is that so much of liberalism is just obtuseness. It's just pretending not to understand basic things, thereby making communication impossible. I'll use the most obvious example of this. But the fact that the libs insist that they don't even understand why one might object to castrating little kids in transgenderism, the fact that they pretend they don't even understand how anyone could hold the opinion that everyone has always held everywhere for all of history is a kind of obtuseness that makes communication impossible. There is a thought that stops thought and as Chesterton says, that's the thought that ought to be stopped and he should go to prison. Okay, speaking of run ins with the law, a woman just pulled a double reverse Uno card on A police officer. This is one weird trick to get out of a tv. If it looks like you're texting while driving, we'll get to that momentarily. First, though, I want to tell you about Preborn. Go to preborn.com knowles k.nows1 of the most extraordinary experiences in life is realizing your family is about to grow. Very few moments that reorder your whole understanding of the future the way that hearing your child's heartbeat for the first time does. For many families, that moment is immediately one of excitement. I have, you know, three and a half kids. I got my three out and then one on the way. But for some women facing unexpected pregnancies, it can also come with fear, uncertainty, and the feeling that they're completely alone. That's why organizations like Preborn matter so much. Preborn connects women with free ultrasound support, counseling, and practical resources during one of the most important moments of their lives. The ultrasound itself is extremely powerful. Seeing that baby, hearing that heartbeat often changes everything. Turns the abstract fear into a real human life. Don't forget, from the moment of conception, that baby is a baby, is fully a baby, and it's your baby. When a mother sees her child on ultrasound and hears that heartbeat more than doubles the baby's chance at life. For 28 bucks, you can get one ultrasound appointment. 140 bucks provides five mothers with this kind of support and care. If you want to help mothers, support families, protect innocent life, give to preborn today. I personally support this organization. I encourage you to give what you can to get involved. I'll £250, say keyword baby. £250 keyword baby or go to preborn.comknowles preborn.com knowles woman gets pulled over. She's going viral for this. This according to the New York Post. The cop says that he saw her texting. She had her phone in her right hand. And she shows the cop why that's not possible.
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Police Officer
This is why you're being pulled over the city of Lake. Worse today we're doing an operation for distracted driver and you drove past me holding the phone with your right hand, manipulating that phone.
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Michael Knowles
I mean, obviously not. She raises her hand. She doesn't have a hand. I want to just call this a day.
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Police Officer
I don't want to call a day. You had a hand up. Manipulated.
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Michael Knowles
I said my right hand.
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Police Officer
Well, I thought I told you right hand.
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Michael Knowles
You got a hand up the right hand.
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Police Officer
I saw you manipulate with the right hand. Perhaps not right, but I saw you.
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Interviewer or Moderator
You didn't see me with my right hand. You saying that you saw me with.
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Police Officer
I know what I just said. I know what I just said. I'm asking you now, did you, did you or not have your phone on your hand?
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Guest or Co-host
I did not.
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Police Officer
You did not have your phone on your hand to God. You don't have funny hands.
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Michael Knowles
Hand to God. She raises this sort of stump of an arm because she doesn't have a hand. And then he keeps going through with it. And this, oh man, what an amazing scene. This woman just plays it perfectly. Even the way I saw you had your hand, your phone in your right hand, I'm pretty sure you didn't see that. Raises the stump, no hand. And then she just goes, so you want to just call this a day? And the thing I love about this interaction here is that the cops reaction is so human. The cops reaction is actually exactly what we just saw from the Belgian judge who convicted that right wing Belgian politician for telling the truth. She goes, yeah, you wanna just call this a day? He goes, well, no, no, no, I don't wanna call this a day because. And she goes, you said you saw me holding my phone in my right hand. That's why you pulled me over. We were just talking about Hasan Piker. You get pulled over, you get arrested, you go to jail for specific actions that break the law. So the specific claim of the cop is you were holding your phone in your right hand. She raises her arm, she says, I don't have a right hand. And at that point the cops just said, you know what, my bad. I was seeing things I didn't see clearly. Sorry, my apologies, have a good day. But what does he do? He doesn't do that. He does the really human thing. He doubles down in this way in such a. It drives the implausibility, the absurdity to its extreme. It was. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Just because you don't have a right hand doesn't mean that I didn't see you holding your phone in your right hand. She goes, I'm pretty sure that's exactly what it means. Well, no, I mean, look, you said I was holding my. No, I know what I said. I know what I said. But do you hand to. And then. It's unbelievable. I mean, it's out of a Hollywood movie. It's out of. Not a Hollywood movie. It's out of a movie like that horror director made. Cause those are actually. That's a good movie. You swear on your hand up to God that you did not. And she raises her arm that lacks a hand. Yeah, my hand to God, the hand That I don't have. That you keep pretending that I have. Yeah, hand to God, I was not holding my phone in my non existent flesh. Okay, well, license and registration, please. Even then, he can't give up on it. He can't give up. License and registration. That is the condition we all find ourselves in. Look at Belgium says, hey, you said that migrants are raping citizens of our countries and committing crimes against them. And the right winger says, yeah, that's true. Look at all the statistics. And the judge says, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, hold on. That's not the point. I know what the statistics say. That's not the point. You don't. You can't. But you said that. Yes. Oh, I did, yes. I said the truth, but, yeah, you can't say the truth. We need to learn this lesson. If your premises are leading you to absurd conclusions, you have to change your premises. If your premise that you can never say anything naughty about migrants, if your premise that the migrants are all really, really great and they're only benefiting society, if your premise is contradicted by all the facts, the behavior of the migrants, you can either punish people for telling the truth, or you can change your premises. You can either punish the woman for texting with her right hand even though she doesn't have a hand, or you can say, you know what, I was wrong and we need to do something different. Which way, Western man? Which way? This woman with an arm missing a hand, she's pointing us in two directions. Which way are we gonna do it? Are we gonna follow the truth? The truth will set you free, or are we gonna keep doubling down on all the lies, all the nonsense? Gets us right back to that movie obsession. Are we gonna double down on all the DEI and the wokeness and the lies and the fictions about human nature, or are we just gonna embrace the truth and recognize that the truth is not hateful? The truth is not hateful. This was the argument, this was the chief premise, really, the chief political premise of the transgender activists. They said that the truth is harmful. If we tell the truth to people, that will lead them to kill themselves. It's cruel to them. The truth is awful and lies will set you free. But our Lord tells us that it's exactly the opposite. And our civilization, when it flourishes, says exactly the opposite. Which is it? I say we follow the truth. Okay. Speaking of protecting the public, President Trump has finally spoken out at this cabinet meeting yesterday about the shooting at the White House just a few days ago. This after the attempted assassination of Trump at the White House Correspondents Dinner. This after the other attempted assassination of Trump at the Trump Golf Course. This after the very near assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. All of this in the context of the successful assassination of Charlie Kirk. Trump speaking out on how it's affecting him. We'll get to that momentarily. First, though, wanna tell you about Hillsdale. Go to Hillsdale. Edu Revolution. We're talking about movies today, you know, and I got a great movie you should go see. You should go see Revolutionary America by Hillsdale Studios in theaters. Narrated by Tom Selleck, including your favorite podcast host. I never really counted on being in a movie with Tom Selleck someday in theaters, but this is the movie to go see, especially in the 250th anniversary year of our wonderful country. At this time especially, history is so often distorted. This is your chance to see the story as it truly happened. Ask yourself what you would risk for freedom. Face the decisions that our founders grappled with in revolutionary America. Hillsdale Studios film Only in theaters May 31st to June 2nd get your tickets right now by going to Hillsdale. Edu Revolution. You do not want to miss the opportunity to see this on the big screen and take a picture when you see my big mug right there on the screen. Go to Hillsdale. Edu Revolution. Locate a theater near you. Buy tickets now for Revolutionary America one last time. That's Hillsdale. Edurevolution. My favorite comment yesterday from ratboyd who says Tim Hortons, the donuts are to die for. They are. They are to die for. They're really good. Especially those little munchkin looking donut. I forget what they call them. Timos, is that what that. I don't know, whatever they call them, they're really good. But you should not literally die for them. You should not allow the government to sign off on your doctor assisted suicide attempt. Just go for the donuts and the coffee. Do not commit suicide. President Trump finally speaking out on the shooting at the White House just a few days ago.
- [38:48]
Interviewer or Moderator
Mr. President, on the shooting last weekend. It came barely a month after the third assassination attempt against you during the White House correspondence dinner. What was your reaction when you first heard about the latest shooting? And what gives you the courage to really keep doing your job effectively without thinking about these threats every day?
- [39:03]
Donald Trump
Well, I can't think about it because if I thought about it a lot, you know, I wouldn't be a very good president. I wouldn't be here, probably be up in some room with a locked door and sit. Just leave me Alone. So I can't really think about it. If it says something that it's a sad part of life, it's a dangerous business, What I'm doing is a dangerous business. And they say, and look, we have been maybe the most consequential, but we certainly have been one of the most consequential. This group has been a very consequential administration. And they say if you're not consequential, you don't have so much problem. If you are consequential, you do. So you have to look at that. But, but it's a shame. It's a sad, it's a, it's a very sad fact of life. Look, anybody in office, not only in this country, in other countries too, but when you are a consequential president, your life is in grave danger. I knew that, Mr. President.
- [40:01]
Michael Knowles
Okay, so great point that I think we don't always totally appreciate, which is that the reason people are trying to kill Trump all the time is cuz he matters. No one ever seriously tried to kill Joe Biden as president. The great threats to Joe Biden as president were slippery floors and time. Those were the greatest dangers that Joe Biden faced. You know, you get out of bed a little too quickly in the morning, lose your balance. That was a big danger. I'm sure Secret Service had meetings about that. And the passage of time, to quote Joe Biden's vice president, the significance of the passage of time was a big danger to him. But nobody was seriously trying to murder Joe Biden. A lot of people keep trying to murder Trump and a lot of the domestic left, mainstream left, has supported that. He says, yeah, because I'm changing things, because I'm consequential. So then, do you think about that? Is it working? Assassinations do work. That's why people keep doing them. A very sad fact that I've been pointing out ever since Charlie was assassinated. And people tried to cope with that by saying, well, you know, you've struck down one of our great leaders, but you know, we're only gonna be ten times as strong. And I said, that's not true. Now we're headed for a period of great trial and tribulation and division and pettiness, and we need to try to, we need to try to overcome that if we can. But you're not just immediately going to unify. That's not how it happens. Assassinations work. That's why people keep doing them. So how does Trump get out of bed in the morning? Trump, who does keep his balance, unlike other presidents. How does he do anything with this fear that people just keep trying to shoot him? He says, I can't worry about that. And I think what's implicit here. Trump seemed to get a little healthy dose of religion after the Butler shooting. He said, you know, it's all God. I mean, how do you. I just don't know how else you explain it. When your head just at the last minute, unpredictably, implausibly, turns to look actually at a chart about immigration, and that last second twist of the head is the only reason that part of your ear blew off and not the back of your skull. They said, that's God, you know? And so when it's our time, it's our time. We want to be prudent. We want to take care in our life. We don't want to be reckless. But ultimately, our days are numbered, and ultimately, God is sovereign. It reminds me of this great observation from one of the legendary cigar men. This is Richard Overton, A World War II veteran who smoked 12 cigars a day and had whiskey in his morning coffee. Lived to be, I think, 112, continued to drive his old 1970s Ford pickup truck. And Richard Overton, at the age of 109, had a short little documentary made about him. And he talked about what it's like to go out into battle, how you can have the courage to keep advancing.
- [42:43]
Guest or Co-host
You see a soldier with a gun, you don't see him turn around and go back to soy. He may go sideways, but he ain't gonna turn around and go back. Okay? How hot them bullies is? He ain't gonna go back. So when you go in there, you say, well, God got me now, See, he gonna take care of you. If it's your time to go, that bully gonna get you. If it ain't your time to go, that bully going over your head, it ain't gonna hit you.
- [43:17]
Michael Knowles
I love quotes, proverbs, maxims. I've memorized a lot of them. I'm a simple man. These kind of really simple moral rules, heuristics, help to guide my life. This is one of my absolute favorite ones. I've thought about it and recited it for years. You're in God's hands. If it's your time to go, dat bullet gonna get you. If it ain't your time to go, dat bullet going over your head, it ain't gonna hit you. And that's really how it is. We use our reason. We're moderate, we're cautious, we're temperate. But we need courage. Courage is not only a virtue, it's the prerequisite of all of the other virtues. And when we've done our part, all of the reasonable preparations that we can make, it's ultimately up to God. You know, there's a special providence in the fall of a sparrow, and the days of our life are numbered just as the hairs of our head are numbered. And that is what Trump is saying. He's not saying it with explicit, direct reference to God, but that is what he's saying. And he has referenced God with regard to this issue elsewhere, saying, look, I just gotta go out there. I feel that I'm consequential. I feel like I'm doing something that's important, and so I can't really think about it. If I allowed this servile fear to overcome me, I wouldn't do anything at all, and the shooters would win. So what do I do? The opposite of servile fear is not just braggadocio. The opposite of servile fear is holy fear. It's humility and awe and wonder, which is the beginning of wisdom. So you say, look, I fear. The only person I fear is God. I don't really fear the guys who are shooting. If it's my time to go, the bullet's gonna get me. If it's not my time to go, the bullet's going over my head. And why would I fear some man who merely can kill the body when. When ultimately who I should fear is God, who can throw the body and the soul into Ghana? Now, speaking of Trump, there's this line. There's this line that Trump said from the Oval Office a few days ago, and I have to bring it up. It's so unbelievably funny, and it was misinterpreted, I think willfully misinterpreted in some parts, but I can't miss it on the show. Are you attending your son's wedding this
- [45:24]
Donald Trump
weekend, by the way? He'd like me to go, but it's going to be just a small little private affair, and I'm going to try and make it. I'm in the midst. I said, you know, this is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things. That's one I can't win on. If I do attend, I get killed. If I don't attend, I get killed. By the fake news, of course I'm talking about no, but he's got a very person who I've known for a long time, and hopefully they're gonna have a great marriage, Mr. President.
- [45:58]
Michael Knowles
Actually, to add to this. Okay, so Trump says a simple question. Are you gonna go to your son's wedding? Don Jr. Was getting remarried over the weekend and he did and he said, I'd like to go, but I don't think I can go. And the clip that went viral is he goes. The way that they were cutting it out, it seemed like he was saying, look, and he's a person I've known a very long time. I love that talk about a true traditional patriarch and father. Ah, yes, my son. You know, Trump is now pushing 80. His son is very much a grown man. He goes, my son is someone I've known for a long time. But that's not actually what he said. He's referring to his son's now wife. He's got a person that I've known for a long time, his wife Bettina. And anyway, great, great clip. I don't care. He's the funniest. The White House posted this very lengthy tribute to Harambe yesterday. It was great. Before we go though, speaking of Trump's priorities, I do wanna. I'll take us all the way. Full circle. Republicans are already. Now that this Texas primary is over and Ken Paxton beat John Cornyn, now they're turning their attention directly on James Talarico, the Democrat candidate. Some are calling him the gay Pete Buttigieg. Here is one of the ads being run against him. This is from the Lone Star Liberty pac. On Talarico, the Democrats have a weird.
- [47:11]
Donald Trump
A weird candidate.
- [47:13]
Political Commentator or Opposing Voice
God is non binary. There are many more than two biological sexes. In fact, there are six. It is now existential that we try to reduce our meat consumption. The American flag is such a complicated symbol for most of us. Prophetic voices like Jesus have helped me reckon with my own whiteness, my own masculinity. Our Southern border should be like our front porch. There should be a giant welcome mat out front. No need to sit and cry over, you know, your whiteness or your masculinity. They're gonna call me a radical leftist,
- [47:46]
Interviewer or Moderator
Something that you love.
- [47:47]
Michael Knowles
That's not family or friends. I love.
- [47:51]
Political Commentator or Opposing Voice
I'm just saying this because it's on my mind. The trans children.
- [47:56]
Donald Trump
The Democrats have a weird, a weird candidate.
- [48:01]
Michael Knowles
Low T tallorico. Too weak for Texas.
- [48:05]
Commercial Announcer
Lone Star Liberty Pack is responsible for
- [48:07]
Michael Knowles
the content of this ad. And then it's just over. Instead of over the Texas flag, it's over a trans flag. And it's so, so great because the Democrats still can't run away from Wokeness. They can't run away from wokeness because when you really press them, they still believe in it, even though the American public has firmly rejected it feels like we're beating a dead horse when we talk about the transgender issue or any of the other weirdness, the whiteness, and all of this really crazy stuff that Talarico's talking about. It feels like we're just be a dead horse. But the reason we have to keep beating the horse is because the Democrats still believe in it. The Democrats are still trying to ride that horse into political power. And so it was so awful, it was so brutal, it was so crazy that it still has legs. Even wokeness really peaked around 2023. It still has legs three years later. It would not necessarily have legs if the Democrats disavowed it. But the Democrats can't totally disavow it because a lot of the Democrat base still believes in it. So you just tie that around them. I mean, to bring it all the way back to the obsession movie. You have a movie that is fundamentally about how men and women actually get along. That is what obsession is about. It's a movie about the most basic dynamics between men and women. And it explodes. It's doing so well at the box office because that is the dynamic that the left has been denying overtly for years. And sex is just so fundamental to who we are as human beings that it's so evocative. It's such a visceral kind of disgust that we feel when someone denies it. I think that it's not too late for the very online people. Wokeness is kind of passe, outdated, whatever. For voters, this is it. I want every adult, every ad in the midterm should be about this stuff. Okay? Today is Theology Thursday. The rest of the show continues now. You do not want to miss it. Become a member. Use code noleskennet WLAS at checkout for two months free on all annual plans.