Congress on Vacation

Summary

The Rob Carson Show — "Congress on Vacation"

Host: Mary Walter (in for Rob Carson)
Guests: Michael Charbonne (Newsmax Canadian Correspondent), Callers
Date: August 6, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this lively installment of The Rob Carson Show, Mary Walter steps in as host for Rob Carson with a blend of humor, sharp political insight, and interactive discussion. The episode’s central theme revolves around the long-standing tradition of Congressional recess, questioning whether America’s elected officials truly earn their extended time away from legislative duties. Listeners weigh in via calls and messages, as Mary underscores the disconnect between Congress's schedule and the expectations most Americans face at work. The program also includes a robust exchange on America's gradual drift toward socialism, with cross-border perspectives from Newsmax’s Canadian correspondent Michael Charbonne.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Congressional Recess: Questioning Its Validity

• Topic Introduction ([03:12]): Mary sets the stage by introducing the episode’s headline: Congress is on vacation again, despite the country’s many pressing issues.
• Congressional Schedule Breakdown ([04:00]):
  • Senate and House non-aligned calendar: Out for weeks at a time, with many “work weeks” only four days long.
  • Intense criticism for light workload vs. high pay.
  • Quote: “Something has to be done about this. This is a part time job to them and they treat it like it’s a part time job, but it’s really a full time job. They work less than you or I do.” — Mary Walter ([07:49])
• Remote Work Proposal ([06:20]): Suggestion for Congress to leverage remote tools so representatives can work with constituents and attend/vote remotely.

2. Callers Respond: The Everyday Perspective on Congressional Schedules

• Victor from Silver Spring ([11:23]): Calls for locking Congress inside until the job’s done; criticizes "rubber-legged" Republicans unwilling to act.
  • Quote: “I wish there was some way we could just lock them inside there and not let them go home until they do the job they’re supposed to do.” — Victor ([11:29])
• Greg from New Hampshire ([14:00]): Advocates for Congress to work full-time hours like regular Americans, suggests Congress’ pay should reflect average American salaries.
  • Quote: “They need to…work a full month, just 40 hours a week, just like everybody else. And they need to have a cut in pay, because the average pay…is probably what, 50, $60,000.” — Greg ([14:00])
• Mary's Reflection ([16:00]): Shares her own working experience, minimal sympathy for Congress’s complaints, compares their time off with working Americans.

3. Senator John Kennedy’s Blunt Perspective

• Memorable Quote ([10:17]):
  • “I’ve been to a squillion meetings to talk about this stuff. That could have been an email. I’d rather have a back alley colonoscopy than go to another meeting. It is time to vote. We’re not going to reach agreement. It’s time to vote. That’s what God made, votes.” — Senator John Kennedy ([10:17])
• Mary’s Take: Applauds Kennedy’s candor; criticizes politicians for avoiding public votes by never bringing things to the floor.

4. Cultural Interludes & Humorous Asides

• Zac Brown Band Giveaway ([17:39]): Anecdote about the band giving every Fenway Park concertgoer a free cruise—used as a segue on American consumer culture and marketing stunts.
• Nude Dining Story ([18:53]): Discussion of a Florida steakhouse launching “nude dining” nights; Mary and guest Michael Charbonne share stories and poke fun at cultural trends.

5. America’s Drift Toward Socialism: Canadian Perspective

• Interview with Michael Charbonne ([22:31] onward):
  • Canadians are shocked by U.S. socialism’s rise; see it as antithetical to American values.
    • Quote: “When you see socialism rising in the United States from a Canadian perspective, it’s very distressing because socialism contravenes everything that America stands for.” — Michael Charbonne ([25:35])
  • Discussion on Gen Z’s unrealistic expectations and lack of financial literacy.
  • Mary on generational entitlement: “Only in America can a kid wear $175 shoes, sip a six dollar coffee and post from a $1200 phone about being oppressed and claiming capitalism has failed them.” ([27:02])
  • Both agree: social media distorts young people’s expectations; “everyone wants everything right now” ([32:44]).
• Canada’s Own Social Democratic Systems ([36:02]):
  • Michael admits Canada is further along the social democratic road, highlights pros/cons of universal health care.
  • Key distinction: No one in Canada goes bankrupt due to catastrophic illness, but there are significant wait times for treatment.

6. Comparative Healthcare: Pros & Cons

• U.S. vs. Canadian System ([36:02 – 40:59]):
  • Michael: In Canada, healthcare focuses on equal service; catastrophic illness won’t bankrupt you.
  • Mary counters with a story of a Canadian denied timely surgery—offered euthanasia (“MAID”—medical assistance in death) instead, and helped only through American charity.
    • Michael clarifies: MAID is for chronic, hopeless diseases; acknowledges the system’s imperfections.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• [10:17] Senator John Kennedy: “I’d rather have a back alley colonoscopy than go to another meeting... It is time to vote. That’s what God made, votes.”
• [14:00] Greg from New Hampshire: “They need to…work a full month, just 40 hours a week, just like everybody else.”
• [25:35] Michael Charbonne: “When you see socialism rising in the United States from a Canadian perspective, it’s very distressing because socialism contravenes everything that America stands for.”
• [27:02] Mary Walter: “Only in America can a kid wear $175 shoes, sip a six dollar coffee and post from a $1200 phone about being oppressed and claiming capitalism has failed them.”
• [36:02] Michael Charbonne: “We have embraced certain aspects of social democratic society. We believe in national health care… you won’t go bankrupt trying to fight [catastrophic illness].”

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Important Timestamps

• [02:33] Mary Walter kicks off the main show: breakdown of Congressional calendar, questioning August recess.
• [10:17] Senator John Kennedy’s viral soundbite on endless congressional meetings.
• [11:23]–[16:00] Callers Victor and Greg react passionately to Congress’s work ethic and pay.
• [17:39] Zac Brown Band’s cruise giveaway anecdote.
• [18:53] The Florida nude steakhouse story leads to cultural commentary.
• [22:31] Interview with Michael Charbonne begins (Canadian view on U.S. socialism).
• [36:02] Canada’s own “democratic socialist” reality—pros and cons of health care.
• [40:59] Real-life healthcare horror story; debate over system failures.

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Conclusion

This episode of The Rob Carson Show, guest-hosted by Mary Walter, leverages a timely critique of Congressional practices to spark a candid, entertaining, and sometimes biting dialogue on American political culture. The mix of policy discussion, generational analysis, and international comparison (from a Canadian perspective) gives listeners both substantive content and moments of levity. Mary’s tone is relatable, her takes are sharp, and the conversation continually draws the audience in, whether through phones, personal anecdotes, or pointed quotes from political figures.

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For full episodes and to join in on the conversation, visit Newsmax.com or follow Mary Walter on X @MaryWalterRadio.

Transcript

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[Mary Walter]

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[Michael Charbonne]

Hold it now.

[Mary Walter]

You are about to hear the most

[Michael Charbonne]

interesting, informative, thought provoking and funny show

[Mary Walter]

in America on air and on the World Wide Web.

[Michael Charbonne]

This is the Rob Carson show.

[Mary Walter]

And welcome to the Rob Carson show. How is everybody? I am Mary Walter sitting in for Robin. I'll be with you tomorrow as well. Very excited about that. Great show lined up. Ken's done a wonderful job. Joining us later this hour is Michael Charbon. He is newsmax's Canadian correspondent and the host of the Charbon Report. I love saying that sounds so French. We'll talk to him about the America's growing acceptance of socialism. As a Canadian, he is quite shocked by this news. Next hour, Lieutenant Colonel Tony Schaefer joins us. We'll talk about Iran again. We'll see what's going on there because I don't know if anything's changed. I keep hearing, I think, I think Iran bombed something again. I think that happened. I, it gets so confusing because as Blaine Holt said yesterday, it's like the lather, rinse, repeat war. That's pretty much where we are. Just slather, rinse, repeat, and we'll just keep going on and on and on. And then Justine Brooke Murray will be joining us in the last hour. We're going to go over some of the news of the day with her. And I have a lot of things to discuss with you that you can call in on. You can join me at 8009-2266-8080-0922-6680. Or you can tag me in a post on X at MaryWalter Radio, which I will open right now on my computer so that I can multitask, should you tag me in your post. And good morning to Brian as well. Hi, Brian. Thanks for being here. So I think we've, I think we worked out all of the, the bugs in the system with watching the stream on YouTube and rumble and everywhere else and having the audio. I spent 45 minutes yesterday in an unpaid engineering class to figure out why it wasn't working. So, so hopefully my end, my free engineering education paid off. And, and we've got it all worked out, so we'll find out. And by the way, if there are any stations that are looking for an engineer, I am now qualified. Oh, my T shirt's a mess. Look at that. I have on an old Jimmy Buffett concert shirt. And you could tell it's old because it's too big and it looks like, you know, they get those, my husband calls them baloney tees. Like, guys wear these T shirts and the necks are like all kind of like too big and stretched out a little bit. And I didn't realize that that's what it looks like. But I'm sorry that's what it looks like. I probably look a little bit like a slob. I look like a guy. I look like a guy as opposed to a woman who would wear something super nice. I just look like a dude who threw on a, a concert T shirt and said good enough and here I am. Alright. So one of the things I wanted to talk about is I want to talk about this idea about Congress and I want to know from you, 800-922-6680 should they be taking this and the House is out for a couple of weeks too. Should they be taking this August recess? This thing goes back to forever and they got air conditioning somewhere along the line. So there's really no reason for them to be taking this off. So I'm going to go into it a little bit with you, but I want to know from you should they be taking this recess? 8009-2266-8080-0922-6680 or again, you can leave me a note on X at Mary Walter Radio. All right. So we could do that. Here's my thing. I don't get this time off. Listen to, listen to the congressional calendar. You ready for this? So the Senate is only in. The House is not in right now. The house is out Aug the first week in August, September 1, 2, 3. They're out for four weeks. The house is out. They were in the. Oh no. The House is. Oh no. Both the House has been out since July 23 and the Senate has been in for since from the 24th of the Senate has been in since July 13th until August 8th. All right. Both Houses were, both houses were in until the 23rd. Then it was just the Senate for a week and a day. Two weeks. Two weeks in a day. Then nobody's in session the second week of August, the third week of August, the last week of August. And then the house comes back August 31st and they're in for four days. And then nobody is in the week of Labor Day nobody's in. Then the House comes back for one, two, three weeks. Excuse me, both houses, everybody's in for three weeks. All right. And their weeks, by the way, are only four days. They only because they have to have a day to travel because I don't know, they have to have a day to travel. So their weeks are only four days. And then October, they're all out again. They're all out again for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 weeks. They're in for two days in October and they're out the rest of the month and they're out the first week in November. So this is insane to me. Something has to be done about this. This is a part time job to them and they treat it like it's a part time job, but it's really a full time job. They work less than you or I do. Can you imagine if you got paid what you get paid? Will they get what 175,000? Can you imagine getting paid 175,000 and you only come to work like you don't go to work for weeks on end, you know, because they're home and they're campaigning and you know they're, they're getting up, they're back with their, with their constituents where they should be. I agree. But you know what? We have the ability for them to work remotely. So why can't they be back with their constituents listening to them and attending sessions and voting? Why not? And I love that you can vote for someone in abstentia. They're not here to do their job. But they, they allowed, they nominated me to do their job for them. Can you do. It's ridiculous. 800-922-6680 and I want to go to, want to go to cut to. This is Senator John Kennedy. Now we have heard so far, we've heard from various senators including, let's see, Senator Cruz and others have come forward and all Republicans, by the way, who say that, you know, people that we should get the Senate back in here, everybody should be back here working. And they're like, hey, we're willing to sit here and work. We're willing to do it. But the Democrats don't want to come back. And th is not forcing every everybody to come back. He's letting them sit instead of, instead of debating the Save America Act. Thune is letting them all go on this long vacation. And I get it. Living in D.C. is really expensive on 175,000 to move your family and you have a home back where you are. I totally understand that. Then maybe we need to create dor for them some kind of dormitory living, like little apartments, little studio apartments that they can live in when they're in Washington D.C. if it's that much of a hardship. I, I just, it's.

[Michael Charbonne]

We.

[Mary Walter]

Something's got to give and I don't think it should be the American people and what's important to us, it shouldn't come out of our pockets in that way. We should get full service from people that we elect to represent us. We assume full time. So here's Senator John Kennedy. I just adore this man and the way he says things. John Kennedy and Tim Burchett are like my two faves right now. Louie Gohmert was my fave. But these two I really like also like Chuck Grassley. But these two are the best when it comes to putting things concisely. So here's Senator John Kennedy.

[Senator John Kennedy]

I'm prepared to stay here as, as long as it would take. I've been to, I've been to a squillion meetings to talk about this stuff. That could have been an email. I'd rather, I'd rather have a back alley colonoscopy than go to another meeting. It is time to vote. We're not going to reach agreement. It's time to vote. That's what God made, votes. That's, that's where I am anyway.

[Mary Walter]

I'd rather, I'd rather have a back alley colonoscopy than go to another meeting about the work we need to get done. Just do the work. Yes, do the work. Yeah. And this is what they do. They talk a good game they have because if they, if they're just talking, they don't have to commit to anything and they don't want to commit to anything because they're all cowards. They don't want to be on the record. Which is why John Thune is protecting the rhinos in the Senate to get them past the midterm so they can sit in their seat longer. Victor and Silver Spring. Oh my gosh. A voice I have not heard in such a long time. Victor and Silver Spring. Hello, my friend.

[Victor from Silver Spring (Caller)]

Hello. It's good to hear your voice again.

[Mary Walter]

You too. So how are you?

[Victor from Silver Spring (Caller)]

Oh, I'm doing okay. I'm 79 now. And yeah, about the Senate, I wish there was some way we could just lock them inside there and not let them go home until they do the job they're supposed to do. Tom Maher used to call the Republicans rubber legged because they were. They wouldn't do anything that meant anything and they just play word games with everybody and don't accomplish anything. And I'm really ticked off that the Republicans, they have all this money and they won't help Dan Cox here in Maryland.

[Mary Walter]

Yeah, I don't know when they're going to start spending the money. It really bothers me that they don't spend the money in what I think they just write off certain states. Maryland, California, New Jersey, Illinois. They just write off to the Democrats and say, well, we're not going to waste our money there away and I do think there are opportunities to flip some of these seats, except that they don't put the effort into it, whereas Democrats do.

[Victor from Silver Spring (Caller)]

Yeah, the Democrats here are going to try and get rid of Andy Harris on the Eastern Shore, redraw the map again. And the Republicans, they're rubber legged, as I said, and they just sit back and let the Democrats walk all over them. I want somebody with guts.

[Mary Walter]

Yeah, we all do. That's why we all, that's why we like Trump so much. But they refuse to, they're very, very afraid. A lot of the Republicans are just, I hate to say, but there are a lot of them are betas. They, when it comes to actually standing up and doing what's right. And my husband always said the Republicans need more women because they don't care. The women will stand up there and they'll vote the way that, you know, they think is the right way where they want. You know, they don't worry about getting reelected and the men do. Victor, what a treat to be able to speak with you. Happy almost 80th birthday. That'll be a big one. Thank you so much for joining me and I'm glad to hear your voice.

[Victor from Silver Spring (Caller)]

Yes, it was good to hear you. And I remember when we went to expectations for Meet the, Meet the Golf people.

[Mary Walter]

That's right. That was a long time ago at a station event and you, you, you got all the way there and we really appreciated you for coming out. Victor, thank you so much. Have a wonderful weekend and God bless. Take care. Let's go to. Do we have time here? Yeah. Very quickly, Greg in New Hampshire, you're on the Rob Carson Show. Hi, Greg, how you doing? I'm doing great. So what do you think about this calendar? They only work part time?

[Greg from New Hampshire (Caller)]

No, just working for two weeks out of a month just doesn't get it. And if you said that 175,000 may not be enough for living in Washington, you know, when they get elected, they should have to sign a contract that they're going to work a full month, just 40 hours a week, just like everybody else. And they need to, they need to have a cut in pay because the average pay probably in the United States right now is probably what, 50, $60,000. That's what they need to be making. And if they, if everybody in the United States does better, then they should get a pay raise, but they shouldn't be getting paid double or three times what other people have made it.

[Mary Walter]

Well, the, yeah. The average salary in Washington, D.C. is approximately 85,000 a year. But obviously that can, can vary significantly. I don't have a problem paying 175,000, especially to live in Washington D.C. i'm okay with that. And I. But we pay for security. Not for all of them. Not all of them have security. Certain ones have security. But live outside of the district. You just don't live in the district. You live outside the district. That's what I had to do when I was working down there. I lived in Maryland, up in Friendship Heights.

[Greg from New Hampshire (Caller)]

So the dormitory sound good to me right there at the capital and stay there and do your job.

[Mary Walter]

Yeah. And some of them were sleeping and some of them were sleepy, I think it was. Oh, what's his name? I can see his face. And he left. He's a commentator over on Fox now. I can't remember his name. But anyway, he used to sleep in his office to save money. That's fine. I don't care if you want to sleep in your office. The offices are nice. That's, that's fine. You know, go do your thing.

[Greg from New Hampshire (Caller)]

They need to do what they're like and that's to laws and solve things, right?

[Mary Walter]

No, I agree. The Senate gets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 weeks off after Friday. They're not back in session until the 14th of December. That's insane.

[Greg from New Hampshire (Caller)]

That's the biggest bunch of. You know what there is.

[Mary Walter]

Yep, that's, that's, that's a problem. All right, thank you so much, Greg. A pleasure speaking with you and have a wonderful weekend. Appreciate it. All right, 800-922-6680. I was looking at this calendar and I was like, wait, I knew they were off a lot, but this is crazy. This is crazy. The rest of us have contracts and you get X number of days off. And, and America's famous for your first year in a job. Unless you're like years down the road and a professional and you've established yourself, you get one week off, you get five days, that's it. Or seven days, whatever it happens to be. And there are certain holidays you get off and sometimes you can, you can switch them. I worked many, many holidays when I had a full time job in radio. I worked many holidays and then I got to take those days later. I got to bank them. But the last 20 years, either my husband or I are working on a holiday. We have not had a holiday off together in 20 years. Easily. We have 4th of July off this year, but it was on a weekend. But even then, that's dicey because of his job or my job. So I don't feel sorry for them. And actually, I'm a little angry. Should they be working 800-922-6680 or tag me in a post over on X at Mary Walter Radio? No. S. Mary Walter Radio. More coming up on the Rob Carson Show. The Rob Carson show podcast is everywhere.

[Victor from Silver Spring (Caller)]

Go to Newsmax.com listen for details.

[Mary Walter]

You know, with this music, you can tell Rob never did a morning show. Can you imagine playing that in the morning? Everybody be like, whoa, jumping out of bed. Oh, dear Lord. His taste of music befuddles me. A lot about Rob befuddles me, but I do adore him. Speaking of music, did you hear about this? The Zach Brown Band at their concert in Fenway park in Boston on Sunday. They have a song called Same Boat. If you're a country music fan, you've heard Zach Brown's Same boat. It's from 2021. We're all in the same boat. And before they played that song, Zach Brown announces there were 37, more than 37,000 fans in the ballpark of watching the concert. And he says, tonight we're gonna do something that even Jimmy, meaning Jimmy Buffett. And oh my gosh, I have a Jimmy Buffett concert T shirt on. Oh, before I knew he was a limousine liberal. This is a long time ago. It was an old shirt. Anyway, he said, this is something that even Jimmy would say is crazy. I'm buying every single person here a cruise. For two people on the boat, this is the biggest giveaway in history, ladies and gentlemen. Then the people who are there at the concert were told to text same boat Boston to a special number before 11:59pm in order to claim their free cruise tickets aboard the Margaritaville at sea, which can be redeemed on select sailings over the course of the next year. And that's insane. You win a gas just because you went to this concert. You and a guest get each get a ticket to go on a Jimmy Buffett cruise. The Margaritaville at Sea cruise, any court, anytime in the next year. Select sailings. Select sailing. So you got a bunch of dates. And I would assume they're like, not peak dates. When everybody wants to go. They're like President's Day weekend. They're not like, you know, holidays, that type of thing off season. And his team, Zach Brown's band, teamed up with the cruise line, which also served as the lead sponsor for their tour, the Love and Fear tour. The entire giveaway is reportedly valued at nearly $40 million. Well, that seems like a bit much because yeah, so. So you had what, 74. So it'd be 74,000 tickets, right? Each 37. 37,000 people in the, in the arena, approximately. And they each get to bring one person. Right. So doublet. 77 or 4, 3 and 3 or 6, 7. So I was right. 74. 74,000 people and it's valued at nearly $40 million. Each person's cruise can't. Each person's ticket can't be a million dollars. That can't be right. That doesn't make any sense to me. But maybe there's more to come. I don't know. Maybe they're going to do it again. Brown and his band now hold the record for the most consecutive sold out performances at Fenway park and the most tickets sold in the ballpark's history. Sunday's concert also made for Zach Brown Band's 15th consecutive sold out show. So kudos to them. Now quickly, did you hear, So I don't know if you heard this, there's a Florida steakhouse called Class C L A S S Class Soiree Steakhouse. Now right there by the name of it, to me it sounds cheesy. Like it's, it's gonna, it's trying to be super upscale with the name and everything and you just know it's cheesy. That's just my first impression. They're in the city of Hollywood and they are offering nude dining on the first Monday of every month. Yeah, they, they got the special idea for a stripped down dinner after a nudist group rented out the restaurant and ate their meal in Da Baf. 250 if you're a man to eat there. 150 if you're a woman. 300 if you're a couple and you want to partake in this, you get hors d', oeuvres, surf and turf dinner and a champagne toast. And they give you a robe when you come in, but they say most people just discard the robe. Thank you. No. I can't even eat in my bathing suit. I feel gross. I can't even imagine that. All right, more coming up. You're listening to the Rob Carson show.

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[Mary Walter]

Oh, I love some special music. Michael Charbon on Newsmax's Canadian correspondent, host of the Charbonne Report. You can find him on X at Michael A. Charbonne, S H C H A R B O N Michael, thank you for joining me, Mary.

[Michael Charbonne]

It's an honor to be with you on the Rob Carson show and also Rob's, you know, nationally syndicated radio listeners as well as streaming live on Newsmax. I gotta tell you, I almost fell off my chair. I almost fell off my chair when you were talking about a nudist colony eating in a restaurant. I have to admit, my wife and I went to Hedonism. And I'm gonna tell you, of all the people, including myself and my wife, we were not attractive nude and I couldn't see eating with people around you with no clothes on.

[Mary Walter]

I just, it's you, I, I can't, first of all, you went to Hedonism, you dirty, dirty boy. Still, I, I just, I, so there is, I live in the People's Socialist Republic of New Jersey and we have a state park. They actually have a nude beach in it because I live at the shore and it's, it's very tightly placed. People who go to it, like, are very big on, you know, if they see anybody taking pictures, they go up to them and anyway, so I actually, they were thinking about closing it. So when I was working in local radio, I went there and did a report from the beach, but I wore bathing suit because there's no way. And I, it's weird for like the first 20 minutes, you know, people walking up and at the ice cream truck and the food trucks and, and it's weird. And then after like 20 minutes, you don't notice it anymore. At least for me, I didn't notice anymore. But I'm uncomfortable eating a meal in my bathing suit. I still have to put like a cover up on or something. Like, I can't, I cannot imag eating in the nude. I, I just can't with other people around me. I just forget it.

[Michael Charbonne]

It's not, it's just, it's just, I just had to comment on that because to be absolutely honest, people look much better with clothes on. I think that's why in the late, in the late times, they always turn the lights out when you go to bed. There's a reason for that.

[Mary Walter]

That's right. Well, they are given a seat cushion and a lap towel when they come in to eat and they are also given a robe, but most of them refuse it and Often get rid of it. And he says it's very popular. What we're doing is special, so we'll see if it survives.

[Michael Charbonne]

You know Mary, I think it's kind of like just to do something different, to be different and say you're different because honest to goodness, I don't get the appeal. I mean I think even Scottish men with the freedom that they have under their kilt, they still have to be careful where they sit.

[Mary Walter]

Yes, they do. Although we saw a lot of those kilts at the World cup and they apparently wear something under the kilt. From what I could see if the World cup is any kind of monitor of what's under the kilt. So Michael, what is the growing socialism in the United States look like from the north looking south? What's your, what's your reaction to it?

[Michael Charbonne]

Well, Canadians are shocked. I mean, I mean if you looked at the standard bearer of democracy and freedom and the standard bearer is America in many ways. I mean you are, whether you want to admit it or not, are the police force of the world. You come to the rescue to countries who are in need and stand up for democracy and people who are in peril. The United States comes to the rescue. And when you see socialism rising in the United States from a Canadian perspective, it's very distressing because socialism contravenes everything that America stands for. The American dream, entrepreneurialism, working hard. I mean it is an unfortunate reactionary position I think and many other people also share this view of Gen Z being frustrated with student debt, not many jobs available. But communism is not the answer and with Mandami being the mayor of New York it was an absolute shock and we can see what's happening to New York. So I think there's many Canadians as well as many other people in the world who are looking in upon this and can't believe it. Like what are you doing America? And let us hope that the Democrats realize that this is something that's going to kill their party. But we just don't get it. It's very confusing and I don't see where it's going to go in any positive reign.

[Greg from New Hampshire (Caller)]

Mary?

[Mary Walter]

Well we have a generation coming up. The under 30 crowd is this meme that I love, it says only in America can a kid wear $175 shoes, sip a six dollar coffee and it's more like nine and post from a $1200 phone about being oppressed and claiming capitalism has failed them. And we raised a generation that was very affected by Covid that was, was really the first fully indoctrinated in liberal theology generation and parents didn't pay attention to what the kids were doing in school because parents are, you know, out working and doing this, that and the other thing and didn't have time to pay attention to it. I'm sure they didn't attend school board meetings or any of those things. So it's kind of like the perfect storm. You combine that with these kids social skills are really, really, I think, affected by Covid for a really long time. And you also have a lot, but not all. But there's a lot of Gen Z that never had chores, never had to earn money as kids. Like I had a, I started chores when I was like in kindergarten. My parents are like, okay, you're a big girl. So I had to like make sure my, my chores were making sure that my, my, my toys are put away, you know, and I got a, I had a little chore chart on the, on the basement door and I got to put a star up for each one that I did. And then I got a reward. So I learned from an early age. And then when we got older we had paying jobs and I see videos and of course I'm sure these are the ones that get all the attention, but videos of these kids who get out of college and they get a job and they're like, I can't work eight hours a day, five days a week and then I have to come home and I have to go to the gym and then there's, I have to eat my dinner, then I just go to bed. How is this life? This is terrible. How can you do this five days a week for the next 40 years? And I'm like, that's because you never had a job, sweetheart. So we think the real, the expectations of this generation are also somewhat unreal, unrealistic. I think they're, they're warped by social media about what life is supposed to be by these tick tocker, tick tocker influencers who are getting paid to be at these, you know, luxurious resorts and carry all these products that are really super expensive. That's not reality. So I think they've, they've grown up with a very warped sense of the world. What do you think?

[Michael Charbonne]

I agree with you 100%. They live in a world of incumbency as you described, with the shoes, the coffee and that. And then if they start to live on their own, this is, it's so expensive to eat because you order, skip the dishes every day. I mean, when, when I think many of your Viewers, I would hope when we grew up, financial reward was as a result of putting in work. Anybody who's ever worked in the media, be it television or film or radio, in many instances, you would volunteer your time for a long extended period to be able to get some insight. Yeah, you can call it an intern as they lovely call it today, but it's paying your dues back then and you didn't get any money. You had to have a side job to be able to pull it off so you could do eventually what you wanted to do. That initiative does not exist anymore. People think that once they, they graduate from school automatically they're going to get $120,000 job and they can buy their Tesla in their house. It does not work like that. And I think a shock factor and these are the people they're going to pay into the old age pension for. When other folks reach that time, there's going to be a shock. And as we start talking about AI now where AI is starting to take over those jobs that have less mandatory education and skill set, they're going to be replaced. And you know what they say, I mean, it's happened in China. When you have a large portion of a population who has no motivation and has no way to fulfill their dreams and think they're being screwed, the next thing that happened is that they go to war. So I don't know, it's going to be, it's going to be a grave situation. And I agree with your indoctrination of liberalism in our education system. And I think that's one of the things that the Republicans now are starting to do is to evaluate that equal time for equal, equal discussion. You could be a Democrat and you can be a Republican and still have decorum to discuss, but that isn't happening now. I mean, look what, I mean, look what person who had the hat on, et cetera. It's wrong, Larry.

[Mary Walter]

The generation that has more information that they carry around with them and the tip of their fingers right on their phones, they have, they have the world of information on their phones. We had to go to the library. And I remember when I was really young, we had the Dewey decimal system with the card catalog. Remember we had to learn how to do that.

[Michael Charbonne]

Yep.

[Mary Walter]

And we, we had to go or we had the Encyclopedia Britannica. When I remember being like a grade school and having to write a paper and I had to go to the Encyclopedia Britannica to write it because we didn't have all the information in the world at our fingertips. And they, they don't use it, they don't utilize it. And in a lot of ways they're very ignorant, especially when it comes to history. They complain like I can't buy a house. So they think this, the system stacked against them. I have to work really hard and I can't buy a house because everything's so expensive. And they don't put two and two together that well. Yes, you're paying $9 for a coffee five days a week, maybe even seven days a week. Yes, you're, you're door dashing your food because you get home from the gym and it's really late and you're tired so you doordash your food and your, your $20 hamb $55. And they think that mom and dad like back in the 80s, they think like, like people bought houses just easily. But the I just looked up in 1985, the average 30 year fixed mortgage rate was 12.9%.

[Michael Charbonne]

Those challenges and those self sacrificing moments that many did in their youth is how their life can be paid off when they got older. And that sacrifice and that concept is lost because everybody wants everything right now. Everybody wants everything nice and clean. I mean it's a perfect situation is how we are so fortunate to live in North America. Yes, we all pay taxes and everybody talks about taxes, but you know what? Our garbage gets picked up, the electricity still comes to our house when there was an emergency, that helicopter that flies up on top is coming to rescue someone and save their life. All those elements, even a full grocery store that takes a risk to fill their shelves because there's people to buy it is what we appreciate and what a lot of those people don't. I think some of those people have to have that shock and have to realize that one day the bank of mom and dad does not exist anymore and neither does the socialist aspect of that country. Supporting everything that you need to make sure that poor little Johnny is taken care of. And I hope they get that message real soon because the rest of the world is going to go marching on and they're going to get left behind in a larger, larger gap.

[Mary Walter]

MARY okay, we're going to continue this on the other side. We're with Michael Charbonne. You can find him at Michael A. Charbonne. He's with us on the Newsmax hotline. And if you want to, if you have a question you want me to ask him, please, you know, hit me up in a, in a Tweet on X MaryWalter radio or give us a call at 800-922-6680. More coming up here on the Rob Car.

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[Mary Walter]

Hey, welcome back to the Rob Carson show. We're here on the Newsmax Hotline with Michael Charbonne. He is the Newsmax Canadian correspondent, host of the Charbonne Report. And you can find him on Exit. Michael A. Charbonnet. Michael, we were talking about America going socialist and how mortified and terrified the Canadians are. But my question is, why don't you guys clean up your own mess? You guys are way farther down the road than we are.

[Michael Charbonne]

Yeah, we live in a social democratic society in Canada. That's true. We have embraced certain aspects of social democratic society. We believe in national health care. We believe in no fault insurance with our vehicles. There are certain things that, that we have bent to. I mean, a lot of people talk about our medical system. Our system does have some flaws. I mean, the difference is that if I was to break my arm in the United States, the first question the hospital asks me is, do I have insurance? And the second question is do I have a credit card? And in the end of it all, a broken arm could cost a Canadian with no insurance between 5 and $15,000 to have your depending on how bad it is in Canada. When you go to a hospital, the first thing they ask you is for your medical card. And then the second question is, what color would you like to cast? Also, the final point with that, from the medical standpoint is someone who's afflicted with cancer or a disease which is debilitating and can kill you and or ruin your life, you won't go bankrupt trying to fight it. And we have that safety net and that portion of it is some semblance of ease and relief. To know that those people, for no circumstances of their own who caught cancer or leukemia or something terrible like that, that the government will support them and they're not going to go bankrupt trying to get better. Mary, that's where that little kernel comes from.

[Mary Walter]

How long does it take to get an MRI to find out if you have cancer?

[Michael Charbonne]

Yes, there are some difficulties with that. That is very true, depending on how it is. But if you go straight to emergency and to the hospital, you'll get it right away. If you're going through your doctor and it's not perilous, it could take a week or two. That's correct. There is those little idiosyncrasies. But I will tell you, when someone is diagnosed with cancer in our medical system, they're immediately plunged right into service so that it can get it as soon as possible. And that life saving attitude will not make you go broke and have to sell your house and have to gather money from your family and friends to try and save you. And that is one thing that is a hallmark of what Canada stands for. And you know, I mean, I understand that medicine is a business, we understand big pharma and there are always blips. Nothing is perfect. But I'm going to tell you, if you or I get cancer in Canada or a Canadian citizen, you're not going to go bankrupt trying to fight for your life.

[Mary Walter]

Well, how In December of December 2025, Glenn Beck wound up offering to pay for a woman from Saskatchewan surgery in the United States. She was approved instead for maid. She waited years. She had a very rare thyroid disease and instead of being able to fix her, they offered her, well, we'll just, we can kill you off earlier. We can just offer you maid. And because there was no surgeon where she lived, she has a, she has a rare form of the hyperthyroidism per whatever it is. Hyper parathyroidism. And the condition left her depressed. She was regularly dealing with nausea and vomiting and she could not go to anywhere else. And so they said, well then we'll just, we'll just kill you early. So the pain stops. And she waited years.

[Michael Charbonne]

If I may just clarify, what MAIDS is, is medical assistance in death. That system was created for people who have chronic disease, chronic pain and are looking for an outlet because there is no hope in front. And they realize that the debilitation is just going to get worse. So you make a choice. If a cancer doctor tells you you've got a month left, you make the maid's choice and you can say goodbye to everybody in a civilized way and determine your own end. The particular example that you're pointing to, she did have a very rare disease. She was not able to go she wasn't able to go to another city where a doctor was available because it was highly specialized and maids was offered to her if she was unable to do it.

[Mary Walter]

So as she claims that she reached out to a clinic in Tampa, but the endocrinologist in Saskatchewan refused to give her a referral and saying, quote, my last one refused to see me after my surgery and said I was no longer his patient and he didn't care. So he wouldn't give her a referral so that she could go to the one in the US So Glenn Beck went up having to pay for all of this. He treated some physicians about treating her and getting her surgery in the United States.

[Michael Charbonne]

Well, I adore Glenn Beck. I think he's an excellent broadcaster. And I don't in any way defend any of the ill will that came to this woman and the circumstances she had. No process is perfect. But I hope that in the end that she got what she needed and she saved her life. I mean, we do live in a society that likes to promote the negativism of something if they don't like it. And we hope that if something in a circumstance like that arises, that we can rectify it and point out inadequacies in the system. And that's definitely part of it. But yeah, but,

[Mary Walter]

Mom, I don't mean to be rude, but I got to, I got to let you go because we're up against the clock because I could have this conversation with you for another half hour. Michael Charbonne, thank you so much. I'm going to have to have you join me on my podcast.

[Senator John Kennedy]

All right.

[Mary Walter]

Coming up on The Rob Carson Show, Lt. Col. Tony Schaefer joins us. We'll talk about what's happening in Iran, if any progress is being made. That's next on the ROB Carson show.