This Week Unfiltered | 06.05.25

Summary

Truth in the Barrel: This Week Unfiltered | June 6, 2025

Hosts: Amy McGrath & Denver Riggleman

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1. Tariffs and Their Economic Impact

In this episode, Amy and Denver delve into the recent escalation of Donald Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum, which saw an increase from 25% to 50% as of June 4, 2025.

Amy McGrath emphasizes the inefficacy of these tariffs, stating, "It's dumb." (04:31). She questions the primary justification behind the tariffs—bringing manufacturing back to the United States—highlighting that such measures have not yielded the desired resurgence in domestic production.

Denver Riggleman echoes her sentiments, explaining, "...these decisions are not based on any economic fact or scientific fact. They seem to be very spontaneous." (05:37). He elaborates on the self-inflicted nature of these tariffs, noting their detrimental effects on supply chains and consumer prices without achieving significant benefits for American manufacturers.

The hosts also discuss a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report suggesting that tariffs could reduce the deficit by $2.8 trillion by 2035. Amy points out the unrealistic conditions of this projection, which assumes tariffs remain permanent and unaltered over decades—a scenario she deems highly improbable (06:14).

Denver further critiques the strategy by highlighting the consequences for industries reliant on rare earth metals. He remarks, "What's interesting about this... they might have to make some of their parts in China..." (10:25), underscoring the irony of attempting to shield American manufacturing while inadvertently increasing dependence on foreign processing.

2. Renaming Navy Ships and Civil Rights Icons

The conversation shifts to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's controversial move to rename US Navy ships previously honoring civil rights figures like Harvey Milk and Harriet Tubman. Amy McGrath passionately defends the significance of these individuals, asserting, "America is bigger than just our warriors. It's also freedom, equality, equal rights..." (21:10).

Denver Riggleman criticizes the decision as a display of incompetence and prejudice, labeling it as "dumb" (17:46). He questions the underlying motives, suggesting that such actions stem from racial and gender biases, further alienating progressive segments of society.

The hosts agree that renaming ships during Pride Month is particularly insensitive and undermines the legacy of the honored figures. Amy reinforces the importance of recognizing diverse contributions to America's history, countering the narrow focus on a warrior ethos.

3. Ukraine Conflict and Russia's Nuclear Threats

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and Russia's alarming nuclear rhetoric following Ukraine's successful drone strikes into Russian territory. Denver Riggleman declares, "Ukraine won the war." (27:36), emphasizing the strategic advantages Ukraine has gained.

They explore Russia's revised nuclear doctrine, which now allows the use of nuclear weapons in response to conventional attacks—lowering the threshold for nuclear engagement. Amy McGrath summarizes, "They've lowered the threshold for when they say they could launch a nuke." (25:24).

Denver advocates for increased support and escalation from the US and EU, suggesting that Ukraine requires more advanced weaponry and financial aid to counterbalance Russia's aggressive posture. He uses vivid metaphors to illustrate the urgency, likening Russia's stance to that of a "beefier North Korea" and calling for a robust response to deter further escalation.

The hosts agree on the gravity of the situation, acknowledging that while Russia possesses extensive nuclear capabilities, active monitoring is essential to prevent catastrophic outcomes.

4. Whiskey Minute: Spotlight on Basil Hayden Bourbon

Transitioning to a lighter segment, Amy introduces the Whiskey Minute, featuring Basil Hayden Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, aged 10 years. She shares a personal anecdote about her husband bringing back a bottle from a distillery tour in Bardstown, Kentucky.

Denver Riggleman provides an expert breakdown of the bourbon's profile, explaining its high rye content and the resulting spicy flavor. He contrasts it with wheat-based bourbons, highlighting Amy's preference for the robust, peppery notes that make Basil Hayden stand out. Their shared appreciation for quality whiskey adds a convivial tone to the episode.

5. Federal Government Hiring Practices and Abortion Policy

In the Quick Shots segment, Amy and Denver address two pressing issues:

1. Federal Job Application Essays: The hosts criticize the Trump administration's requirement for federal job applicants to write essays demonstrating support for presidential executive orders. Denver sarcastically suggests using AI tools like ChatGPT to complete these essays, highlighting the performative nature of such loyalty tests (39:28).

2. Abortion Policy Changes: They discuss the Trump administration's recent rollback of Biden-era guidelines that mandated hospitals to stabilize patients needing emergency care, even if it involved performing abortions. Amy McGrath laments the erosion of protections for women's health, noting, "When I talked to conservatives, they would always say, I'm really against abortion, but not in the case of the life of the mother. What the Trump administration is doing now is basically saying, the life of the mother does not matter." (40:59).

Denver expresses frustration over Senator Joni Ernst's controversial remark, "we're all gonna die anyway," in response to questions about Medicaid cuts, labeling it as a demoralizing and dismissive stance toward women's healthcare needs (42:54). Both hosts condemn this outlook, emphasizing the administration's disregard for vulnerable populations.

Conclusion

Amy and Denver wrap up the episode with a toast to combating ignorance and affirming their commitment to uncovering and sharing the truth. They invite listeners to subscribe to their upcoming live show on June 10th, promising engaging discussions and spirited debates.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Amy McGrath

  • "It's dumb." (04:31)
  • "America is bigger than just our warriors. It's also freedom, equality, equal rights." (21:10)
  • "When I talked to conservatives, they would always say, I'm really against abortion, but not in the case of the life of the mother." (40:59)
  • "The life of the mother does not matter." (42:17)
  • "They're dumb." (22:33)

• Denver Riggleman

  • "These decisions are not based on any economic fact or scientific fact. They seem to be very spontaneous." (05:37)
  • "Ukraine won the war." (27:36)
  • "When you have somebody that's this morally loose, this ethically challenged..." (14:39)
  • "We're all gonna die anyway." (42:54)

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Additional Resources

• Visit www.TruthintheBarrel.com for more episodes and updates.
• Subscribe to the podcast on your preferred platform and follow their YouTube channel for the live show on June 10th.

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Timestamps Reference

• [04:31] - Discussion on tariffs being ineffective.
• [05:37] - Denver explains the self-inflicted nature of economic policies.
• [06:14] - CBO report analysis on tariffs.
• [10:25] - Impact of rare earth metals processing.
• [14:39] - Critique of Trump's ethical decisions.
• [17:46] - Renaming ships and its implications.
• [21:10] - Defense of naming ships after civil rights icons.
• [25:24] - Russia's nuclear doctrine changes.
• [27:36] - Denver's stance on Ukraine's progress.
• [39:28] - Federal job essay criticisms.
• [40:59] - Abortion policy changes discussion.
• [42:17] - Senator Joni Ernst's comment on Medicaid.
• [42:54] - Further critique of healthcare policies.

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Cheers to another insightful episode of Truth in the Barrel, where truth meets tradition!

Transcript

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[Denver Riggle]

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[Denver Riggle]

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[Amy McGrath]

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[Denver Riggle]

And hammocks for less.

[Amy McGrath]

Expedia made to travel. Today we're hoping the safety bars are secure as we take an unfiltered ride on the tariff roller coaster. Can someone please pump the brakes on Trump's economic madness? Also, we set sail on the USS Fragile Masculinity with Pete Hegseth, of course. And why does the name Harvey Milk and others make him so angry anyway? Then we'll talk about Putin's nuclear threats in the wake of Ukraine's very successful drone attack into Russia. Is Putin serious about this? Plus, then do you want a job in the federal government? Then you need to be ready to write an essay about how awesome Trump is. The health and very lives of pregnant women continue to be diminished. We'll talk about that, but don't worry because Joni Ernst would like to remind everyone that we're all going to die anyway. This is Truth in the Barrel. A different kind of whiskey rebellion. Welcome to Truth in the barrel. I'm Amy McGrath with my co host, just back from Ukraine, Denver Riggle. Welcome home, Denver.

[Denver Riggle]

Thank you. One o' clock this morning. I'm feeling pretty good, I'm gonna tell you right now, so this, this is needed.

[Amy McGrath]

You haven't had a lot of sleep, so I'm really happy you're here today talking about the news of the day.

[Denver Riggle]

Well, you've caught me up. I mean, you know, I, I looked at everything our great team, our crack team did and you know, I was trying to keep. Keep up to date on things, Amy, but it was a little difficult over there, mostly because I didn't have any coverage.

[Amy McGrath]

I mean, we'll get you up to speed. We'll get you up to speed. Before we do, I, I want to say, and I want to share with everybody that we have less than a week left before the launch of our live show. Tuesday, Tuesday night, June 10, 7:30 to 8:30 Eastern Time, we're going to be answering all of your questions, talking about the news of the day, having a lot of fun, drinking whiskey. So please join us for our first live show. And you have to head over to our YouTube channel to view that live show. You hit subscribe, turn on the notifications. That way you won't miss out on anything. And that way you can be involved in the chat on that live show. Right.

[Denver Riggle]

It's going to be so exciting. I can't wait. But people need to make sure they subscribe to get on that live show. Right, Amy? Like, they gotta, they gotta subscribe to the YouTube, they gotta get the podcast, and they need to follow us so they know what's happening.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah. And they can always send us an email, tell us what they want to talk about. You know, we can go from there. Normally, Denver, we jump right into Whiskey minute at this point. But we've decided to change things up a bit. We're going to stay tuned later in the episode here because we'll tell you about Basil Hayden, which is the drink that I'm preferring today. And we're going to do that right before our quick shot segments.

[Denver Riggle]

All right, I'm ready. I'm ready. I love me some basil.

[Amy McGrath]

Before we are going to have fun there, we need to get into some business. And I'm talking the business of tariffs. Right. We've been talking about this all spring. We're now into the summer. And this week, on Wednesday, June 4, Trump instituted these 50% tariffs on metals. They went into effect this week for the second time since March. Donald Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum have increased. Now they've doubled from 25 to 50%. So I want to talk about this because there's a lot of pain associated with these tariffs. And what do they really mean?

[Denver Riggle]

Yeah. And you know what I would notice as I was preparing for this is what's amazing is we have these tariffs coming on metals. We also have precious metal issues. I mean, there's so many things that we need to talk about here, but it's almost as if it's the person who wants to rebuild a bridge, Amy. And instead of utilizing the old bridge while they're building the new bridge, every time that Donald Trump gets one of his bright idea fairies that get on his shoulder, he blows up that bridge and then demands another bridge to be rebuilt in real time. And what you're seeing across the globe is this devaluation in the dollar also. So when you're looking at these tariffs and this his inability to have a stable decision making process, the globe reacts to it and they're reacting to it because China right now is negotiating contracts, currency contracts with other countries without the United States involved. And people are afraid to actually put their money in American dollars because they're not sure about the stability of our government policy process. And I think that's what scares me again. And we've talked about this for the last, what, Amy, four months is. It seems like these decisions are not based on any economic fact or scientific fact. They seem to be very spontaneous.

[Amy McGrath]

I mean, let's just call it what it is. It's dumb. Okay, so I want to talk specifically just about these steel and aluminum tariffs now. You know, we import some steel and some aluminum. We import as a percentage more aluminum than steel. And the goal of these tariffs, the way the Trump administration initially talked about it, was that they wanted to bring back steel and aluminum manufacturing to the United States. Now they instituted tariffs during the first administration on these metals. And did manufacturing come back to the United States during that time?

[Pete Hegseth]

No.

[Denver Riggle]

No.

[Amy McGrath]

So what happened during that time and what happens when you institute these tariffs? Basically what happens is the steel and aluminum companies, they raise their prices. They have the ability to do that now because there's the competition, you know, gets diminished, they raise their prices, they get more profit out of that. And you might say, well, that's good, that's good for American companies. Right? Well, who pays the price? The rest of us do. Yeah, send it.

[Denver Riggle]

Yeah, it's. So during COVID you know, when you have supply chain issues, right, when you're looking at metal, aluminum, glass, all that, that was hit because Covid was a, you know, we call it act of God, but it was a pandemic, right. Where people had to react to that. And at the last time the dollar was really devalued. But it was also when you had these supply chain issues and these pass through costs were very dire and you know, and eventually you saw this inflation spike as money was pumped into the economy to try to mitigate what happened during COVID What's interesting about this, when you're talking about tariffs like this is this pass through to the consumers is happening because of self inflicted wounds. You use this word and I think it's scientifically correct, Amy. Dumb. I think, you know, it's just dumb. There's, there's really not a reason for it, except for the fact that he said he was going to do this. And it's, and he's really getting advice from some of the worst people, you know, that, you know, from the Russell Vaults to, you know, to Peter Navarro. And think about the people that I'm talking about here, the Project 2025 guy and Peter Navarro who said January 6th was stolen and just a virulent conspiracy theorist. So these are the people giving him advice. Amy so it's pretty interesting that we're looking at sort of this devaluation of the dollar, these, these supply ch. Pass through costs to consumers because of self inflicted wounds instead of sort of something like Covid. And I think that's what I got a call this morning actually from somebody in banking talking about this very issue. And that's why I think it's, it's something we need to cover, is that all of this is self inflicted. There's no real reason for it because he could have negotiated this before. You know, it just doesn't make a.

[Amy McGrath]

Lot of sense not bringing manufacturing back. That didn't happen last time. As you said that the, the costs just go into consumers. And what is, what does that mean? It's the cost of cars goes up, sports equipment goes up, soda, beer cans, all that stuff goes up. Okay, so it trickles down. And here's the thing I've heard from the other side. The people trying to justify this stuff, you know, the mega tariff, whatever, people out there really trying to justify anything that Trump does that's unjustifiable. They're saying that the CBO report, you know, when the cbo, the Congressional Budget Office, when they like it, they cite it. When they don't like it, they don't cite it or they say that it's false. But in this case they're saying, hey, there's a CBO report out there that's saying that the tariffs could reduce the deficit by 2.8 trillion by 2035. The problem with that, of course, is the caveat is that these tariffs, for those savings to happen, the tariffs would have to be permanent and they would specifically not, could not change from their current rates over the next several decades. And that requires that Trump is consistent even in the four years that he's in office, which we know that's not gonna happen. So it just, it doesn't make any sense. It causes a ton of pain. And the last thing I'll say about this, and this I think is really critical, there's a Wall Street Journal report that came out just a few days ago that said that car manufacturers are Actually considering making some of their parts not in the United States, as was the reason for these tariffs or one of the reasons that they institute them in the beginning in the first place. But the car manufacturers are now thinking about making some of their parts in China and it has to do. It has due with rare earth metals. So talk about that a little bit.

[Denver Riggle]

Yeah, sure. So rare earth metals. So when you're looking at processing plants for rare earth metals in China, there's over three dozen. I believe the number's 38. When you're looking at rare earth mineral processing in the United States. Amy, would you dare to venture a guess at how many rare earth mineral processing centers there are in the United States?

[Amy McGrath]

We don't have our lani.

[Denver Riggle]

Zero.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah, zero.

[Denver Riggle]

And so a lot of the rare earth minerals we have are sent to China for processing now, Amy. I know, I hope people listening to this just sort of got what I just said there. So as we're escalating this trade war, rare earth minerals are used for anything with about components, whether it's from computers, data transfer. You're talking about all kinds of incredible things that rare minerals are actually used for. America has some, we have rare earth minerals, but we always relied on China for a majority of the processing of those rare earth minerals. The reason car companies saying they got to go to China is because with everything that's happening right now, there's instability in actually being able to build the components of the vehicles themselves. And when I was in Dubai, Amy, I got to, I got to drive in a byd, a build your dreams car, better than Tesla, much more stable. And I think what we're seeing right now is American car companies and global companies. And I want to emphasize that global companies, they're looking across this whole sort of geopolitical landscape right now and they're like, yeah, you know, America seems like it's being run by a madman who's making again, as you said, I want to use your word, if I make dumb decisions. And we have real CEOs saying we don't know if we can live in this environment.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah. So you need these rare earth metals for the newer technology cars that we use, they're magnets. Right. And China put, because of the tariff wars, China put export controls on these things. Okay, so imagine they're like dime size metals. And so now these car manufacturers, Ford, you know, the Atlantis, Dodge, the American, American car manufacturers use these metals. They typically get them from, processed from China, shipped here. But now they can't because China is putting controls on this because of Donald Trump. And so now what car manufacturers are having to think about doing is taking the engine or parts of the engine, shipping it over unfinished engines, shipping them over to China so that the Chinese can put the chips in the engines, and then shipping the engines back to the United States. Now how smart, Denver, is it to ship an unfinished engine part halfway across the world to have a dime sized chip put in it, only to ship it back, only for that piece to then be exposed to more tariffs on the way back? How smart is that?

[Denver Riggle]

I don't think it's, you know, I don't think it's really smart at all. It might be dumb. And I think that, I think we're to a point though when if you have somebody, somebody who's been found liable for sexual abuse, who's been convicted of 34 felonies and pays off porn stars and Playboy bunnies in order to keep that out of the media before an election, maybe that person shouldn't be making decisions on financial matters for the United States. And somebody who's gone bankrupt multiple times and somebody who's a grifter. Right. And you know, now he's, he's using the American system and people for his own wealth. But what you're seeing right now is there's something else in the background, right, Amy, these tariffs, they seem very spontaneous and dumb, as you said. But you wonder who's benefiting in the stock market, the dips, the shorts, who's aware of that? And I feel like this is again, something financial for Donald Trump that's hurting the American people. But as long as he enriches himself and those around him, I think that makes him happy. And again, when you have somebody that's this morally loose, this ethically challenged, and somebody who's this misogynistic and awful as a human being, maybe that's why we're having issues with these dumb decisions in our economic policy.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah. And you can't say that this stuff isn't affecting us already. Ford Motor Company already shut down, shut down its Ford Explorer plant in Chicago for a week. Why? Because they can't get these rare earth minerals. They can't get the parts.

[Denver Riggle]

And so Ford was a success story. Amy, didn't they come out with employee pricing right. When the tariffs came out? It wasn't maga.

[Amy McGrath]

Car manufacturers are saying right now that they might have to stop production if this doesn't stop. I mean, this is, it's ridiculous. These tariffs are continue to hurt us. And you know, it's just Dumb.

[Denver Riggle]

So he did say he loved. The best time in American history was 1870 to 1913. So, Amy, I've been looking for horses and to build a stable to go back to those heady times right during the Industrial Revolution. I can't wait. Yeah.

[Amy McGrath]

What was the life expectancy back then? Denver?

[Denver Riggle]

I think it was, like, 53, actually. I'd already be keeled over. I probably would.

[Amy McGrath]

And, you know, we probably love it because women don't have the right to vote.

[Denver Riggle]

So that's kind of what's the heady times of, you know, pre suffrage.

[Amy McGrath]

Excellent. All right, while. While Trump is busy making cars more expensive, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is laser focused on protecting us from woke ships. Oh, yeah. Since taking office, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has made his mission to restore the, quote, warrior ethos to the armed forces. Now, look, there's not a lot of people who look at the United States military and believe that it's ravaged by wokeism, but Pete Heth does. I mean, he's, like, obsessed with this, and I don't know, man. He. He's just completely insecure. And I'll just, I'll turn it over to you, and then I'm gonna. I'm gonna go on a rant. I'm sorry. I got to.

[Denver Riggle]

I, I, I was. I, I'm ready for the rant. And I would say that somebody with presumably white nationalist tattoos making decisions might mean that there could be some racism, some homophobia, some misogyny in the decision making. And I think that's what we're seeing right now. And anybody who wants to change the name, you know, from Harvey Milk, which is ludicrous. This guy was assassinated, right, Amy?

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah, so.

[Denver Riggle]

So what?

[Amy McGrath]

Denver. What you're talking about here is Pete Hegseth coming out and saying the Department of Defense and Trump administration saying they're going change these names on US Navy ships.

[Denver Riggle]

Yes.

[Amy McGrath]

One in particular was named after a civil rights icon, Harvey Milk. And, you know, he. Harvey Milk was a Korean War Navy vet. He was an operations officer on rescue subs, and then he fought for the rights of lesbian and gay Americans. And he was actually assassinated in the early 1970s. He's a civil rights icon. And so Hegseth wants to take the ship that is named after him, change the name, and announces this during Pride Month.

[Denver Riggle]

Pride Month.

[Amy McGrath]

How up is that?

[Denver Riggle]

Up is the right word. And dumb. I don't. Maybe that's the theme. Well, dumb.

[Amy McGrath]

It's not just stopping with Harvey Milk either. Okay, so there's Plans said to be underway to rename lots of different ships. And guess what? Denver. Guess who the who. He's renaming the ships that are named after. They're named after women. They're named after black. Black Americans. Latino.

[Denver Riggle]

Surprise.

[Amy McGrath]

Latina Americans, LGBTQ Americans. Harriet Tubman, Harry Tubman, Ruth Bader, Planet. Thurgood Marshall, Cesar Chavez, Medgar Evans. These are all ships that are being built or have already been built that are named after these civil rights icons. And it's just. To me, it's shameful. His. His actions are shameful and weak.

[Denver Riggle]

And, I mean, aren't we. To a point, Amy. I mean, it's. It's exhausting, right? Because a lot of the, you know, think about the bases, right? We have. We're. We're renaming bases back to Confederate generals. You know, they try to come up with excuses why they're not doing it like Bragg. Give me a break. Right? It was Alvin, Brad. Because. Shut up. No, it's not. We know. So we're renaming bases back to Confederate generals. And most of those. And if I remember correctly, my history, Amy, I think most Confederate generals were white males. Am I correct in that? I think. Honestly, I'm pretty sure. Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I don't think there was like, you know, Major General, you know, Sally Johnson, Confederate General. I don't think that happened. So I have a feeling, and tell me if I'm wrong, Amy. It's a guess. It's just a guess that all the names of these new ships will be white males. What do you think?

[Amy McGrath]

Oh, for sure. You know, you get this a little bit in the veteran spaces, conservative spaces that, hey, you know, we. All of these ships need to be named after warriors. Not. Not any of this other WOKE stuff. And here's what I think about this. US Navy ships. First of all, it's a great honor to have a ship named after you. A U.S. navy ship can be named after a location. It could be named after a battle. It could be named after a state. It could be named after our presidents. It could be. You know, you can name them after anything. But a lot of Navy ships are named after famous veterans, famous warriors. But you know what? America, we're. We're bigger than just our warriors. America is not Sparta. We can name our ships after the things and ideals that America stands for, which, by the way, isn't just war. It's also freedom, equality, equal rights. And so that's why these ships were named after these really important Americans that stood up for. Guess what? They stood up for they stood up for America, just like. Just like warriors stood up for America. That's why these ships are named after them.

[Denver Riggle]

So, Amy, are you saying maybe we should follow an American ethos and not just a warrior ethos? Is that what you're saying, Amy, that maybe America is built, you know, not just on those who fought and died by the rifle or by armaments, but those who fought and died as they were walking the streets of Selma or people who wanted, you know, equal rights, those who are assassinated, like Martin Luther King or Harvey Milk, right? Those women like Harriet Tubman who help people to safety, those are. That's the American spirit. And, you know, that's why I sort of get goosebumps when we talk about these type of things, because that's what makes me love America, is that we have a. In some ways, a great past, but also a vile past. And we've tried to right those wrongs. And those names are about righting the wrongs of where the American dream went sideways and where, you know, from chattel slavery to all the things that we dealt with with women couldn't vote? Amy. I mean, I don't think. And so this is what's incredible, right? As we tried to right these wrongs. And we have an administration right now who believes, right, that those times of slavery, of massive civil unrest, of racism, right. Of women not being allowed to vote, of horses and living to the age of 53 should be the dream time of the American republic. And I think it goes back to that. A lot of these decisions are based in hatred and weakness, but they're also just dumb.

[Amy McGrath]

They're dumb. Well, first of all, I can't think of a more fierce American warrior than Harriet Tubman. I mean, seriously. But this is just dumb. And it's also, look, I don't think Donald Trump gives two shits about any of this. I think this is Pete Hegseth completely. The Secretary of the Navy really hasn't said anything. He's just kind of along for the ride at this point. And typically, as you know, Denver, these names are really unfolded and thought through by the Secretary of Navy, not the Secretary of Defense, but the Secretary of Navy in this case seems to be AWOL or out of the picture. This is. This is purely Hegseth. And I'm going to say this because I think it's true. This is some serious small D energy here, right? And I'm not talking about small D democracy. He is, like, super insecure. I don't know how else to say it. It's terribly sad for, you know, the families and the legacy of the people, the great Americans who he is stripping the names from on these ships. And it's just wrong.

[Denver Riggle]

You know, you're saying that he's intellectually hung like a pimple, I think is what you're saying, Amy. And I just want to, you know, say that, you know, just to try to clear up some things with that small D energy. When you talked about Harriet Tubman, when you talked about these individuals, it's hard for me not to actually get so incredibly angry. I think that's where you're at and that's where I'm at, is that none of it makes sense. It just, it's nonsensical. We say dumb, but it really is based in hatred and based, you know, as you said, on that small D energy of somebody who seems to be absolutely offended by anybody not white male. And I just. It's hard to listen as a normal thinking, sane human being. It's hard to get your arms around it. Me and you are trying to find the words, but it's difficult.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah. And it's terrible to do this during Pride Month. I'm just really ashamed. Okay, well, on that note, I want to move on to something also really important and very scary. It's no surprise that the mega world has long held up President Putin as the ultimate tough guy. But will that continue to be the case as Putin is now sort of escalating these nuclear threats against Ukraine in the wake of the Ukrainian successful drone attack into Russia? And I'm talking about the nuclear doctrine, the changes, and what we're sort of seeing in the battle of the words right now.

[Denver Riggle]

So right now I'm going to say something pretty bold. Ukraine won the war. It's going to be slow, but I think with the strike into Russia and I think with what happened in the Crimean Bridge, I think those absolutely crippled the ability for Russia to respond in a way that's military specific. And let me give you an example. So what you see right now with him threatening nuclear strikes on Ukraine, I think that we have this, this thing where a Putin, the. The person that the MAGA far right thinks is actually the carrier of the torch for a Christian religion too, by the way. Amy, think about that, right? You have this individual who's threatened nuclear war because he knows he's losing the war. And interestingly, he, you know, he wants the United States and the UK to help tame Ukraine. While I was over there, and after that strike, and even before that strike, there was indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets. It is a death cult, right? It is. And I think we, I think we're afraid to use this word and I'm going to use it. It's evil. There is good against evil. And when you see evil in action, when you see it for real, you know it, you know what evil is. Putin is evil. America has always stood against him. My biggest thing about the America in the US if, if it was any other president or national command authority, if Russia threatened a nuclear strike on a country, Ukraine, democratically elected country, the US Would have the strongest response. And if I was president, I'd say, listen, we are NATO. If you hit, if you hit Ukraine nuclear in a nuclear way, we are going to invoke Article 5 just because. Yeah, that is exactly what I would do. And I think that's what a real US President would do. And it, and, and any, if Putin calls for us to tame Ukraine f off that, that is what I, again, just like we were talking about with our prior subject about dumb, now we're into, into almost this, this hateful ideology that, that we're mirroring with what Russia is doing. And I think with me being over there, maybe I'm a little bit radicalized right now on facts and what happened, but that's where I'm at.

[Amy McGrath]

Well, I want to bring it, bring it back just a little bit because the, the war of the words matters. And you talked about it a little bit with, with Vladimir Putin telling the UK and the United States to quote, sort of tame Ukraine in diplomatic speak. All of those words matter. And I want to bring it back to Russia's nuclear doctrine. So we know doctrines are, are sort of a way to communicate to the world what you would do. It doesn't necessarily mean there's no law in Russia that says they have to abide by their doctrine. It's just their way of communicating how and when they might use nuclear weapons. In the past, like prior to 2024, their nuclear doctrine was they would only use nuclear weapons if an attack on Russia threatens the very existence of that state. Now they've changed at Denver. They've lowered that threshold and they've said in their, their new nuclear doctrine, which just came out a few months ago, that Russia has the option to use nuclear weapons in response to a conventional attack. That's just a non nuclear attack, any conventional attack backed by a nuclear weapon power against any threat to Russia's sovereignty or territorial integrity and that of its ally Belarus. So I know that's a lot of jumbly gobbledygook there. But basically what that means is they're lowering the threshold for when they say they could launch a nuke. And I think that's something that is underreported now. Whether it, it's real or not, we, we don't know. But does this spider web attack that just happened last week that Ukraine did against Russia, does it meet that threshold? Yes, it does. So here we are.

[Denver Riggle]

I would humbly submit that Ukraine needs to escalate more after the Crimean bridge looking at drone warfare. I think at this point the eu, because the US right is supporting a pariah state. Whether it's accidentally on purpose, it doesn't matter. I think the EU needs to pump as much money as they can right now to Ukraine and NATO. I think every single country surrounding the border countries as we move up north to Finland, who's pretty, who wants to mobilize their 900,000 reserves because Russia is now starting to a little saber rattling with Finland too. You get to the point where I think now is the to escalate, not deescalate. You know, I always use these bar fight metaphors, but when the person's on the floor and you know, he's like, now you know, he's got a knife and he's bleeding and bad, that's when you beat him with a chair. And I think right now we're at the chair beating stage for Russia because when you lose and when you get hit that hard, when you have wa done three years plus on a country you were supposed to roll in a week, based on US Intelligence estimates, now is the time for Ukraine to escalate. And I would humbly submit the US should come in with billions of dollars a year, right, in order to arm them. Whether it's himars, any of our high, you know, high powered equipment, but also with drone components, right? And we should be side sailing with them with the new type of drone warfare. With the stalemate on the front now, and I'll end with this because I know you probably have a lot to say on this. Ukraine wants a stalemate on the front with new drone warfare. You have that stalemate. Putin's in a weird place, right? He really can't move if his guys move out. Thermal Drones backed with ISR drones backed with HPVs and larger payload drones are going to hit the front line. You know, Ukraine's working AI specific drone attacks. Russia has more drones AI Ukraine's more flexible and adaptable. So now he has say, well, do I go with air Power. Just today in Kherson, right where I just was, right, they hit him with a glide bomb, right? So now they're doing more and more air power superiority. The thing is, is that Ukraine has F16s and MIG 29s, right. Or that, you know, they have other aircraft now to mitigate some of that. So now he's like, well, I got to threaten nuclear war. And I think part of that escalation is it almost feels like a Kim Jong Un type of, type of threat. Almost like Russia's become like this sort of beefier North Korea. And I think that's where, that's where I think at this point, we need to call his bluff. We need to escalate. The EU needs to escalate. Zelensky needs to say no negotiations until you move out of the Crimea and you move out of those territories, because we're coming now and you're on your heels. And when somebody makes a threat like that and they're laying on the floor and they still say they're going to kick your ass, that's when you beat them with the chair. Because the floor doesn't start the dive. Sorry. The fight doesn't start until they're on the floor. And that's how, that's where I'm at right now with this whole situation.

[Amy McGrath]

That's a hawkish place to be. And it's, it's, it's bold. And, and I, I hear you. I think, you know, we, we, we, we can't forget that Russia does have a ton of nuclear weapons. And we can't forget that if they are defeated conventionally, they could potentially use that. I don't know how credible that threat is right now. We're not seeing any changes in their nuclear posture. And Denver, you, you and I know, and for people listening, you should know that we can kind of see whether they change their nuclear posture.

[Denver Riggle]

We have the sensors. Yes.

[Amy McGrath]

Right. So we can, we can see that right now there's no changes. But it is something that we need to watch. I, I think it is absolutely something we need to pay attention. I'm with you. That I would love to, to double down and let's, let's go get them, you know, while they're down. But we, we definitely need to watch this.

[Denver Riggle]

Well, I mean, I, it was my dad. He goes, the fight doesn't start, you know, until the person's on the floor. And I think right now, after, you know, Trump yelling at Zelensky that he doesn't have the cards, I think that Zelensky showed that. Think about it. While Trump is screaming at Zelensky in the Oval Office, the planning for Spiderweb was happening.

[Amy McGrath]

Amy, you don't have the cards. Zelensky, he's like, oh, yeah, I do. They're in my pocket.

[Denver Riggle]

I'm, it's, man, what a cool customer. And not only that, you know what they were planning simultaneously destroying the Crimean Bridge.

[Amy McGrath]

I know, it's incredible.

[Denver Riggle]

It's incredible. And now Ukraine has the upper hand, and that's why you're seeing the civilian murders and the terror strikes inside of Ukraine today.

[Amy McGrath]

And, but let's, let's also be real. I mean, the Russians have lost a lot, a lot of troops in this fight. That's, you know, reports that they've lost more than the Brits did percentage wise in World War II. So, I mean, that's, that's. I know. So it's just something to watch. The nuclear element to. This is real. And we, we just have to watch it. That's, that's, that's all I'm saying at this point.

[Denver Riggle]

Well, all right. Incredible, incredible times.

[Amy McGrath]

Let's get into our whiskey minute because this is the fun part. All right, all right.

[Denver Riggle]

I know you got some days I'm ready to hear. I'm ready to be educated.

[Amy McGrath]

So can you see this here then? This is Basil Hayden, Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, age 10 years. And my husband bought this for me. He went down to a, my son's soccer tournament down in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. And when the tournament was over, they did a little detour. Denver. Yeah. My, my husband with 12 year old son. Yeah. To a distillery tour.

[Denver Riggle]

Have no comment.

[Amy McGrath]

And. Yeah. And he came back with some Basil Hayden. Anyway. Basil Hayden. Do you know who, who this was?

[Denver Riggle]

Educate me, ma' am. Educate me on Basil Hayden.

[Amy McGrath]

All right, so Basil Hayden was a pioneer in Kentucky bourbon. He came to Kentucky from Maryland. So he was a Marylander who moved to Kentucky in the late 1700s, I believed. And he was Catholic. He started a Catholic community in Bardstown, Kentucky, or was part of the Catholic community that, that, that settled there. And his big thing was rye. So he created this bourbon with a higher rye content. And it's now the defining characteristic of the Basil Hayden brand, which is from the Jim Beam Company and it's out of Bardstown, Kentucky. And it's very good. If you smell it, it's like Vanilla E. Okay. I don't know if that's a right, the right word, Vanilla E, but it's got some like, nutty flavor to it. It's Very good.

[Denver Riggle]

Well, you know, I, I want people to understand because Amy knows this stuff very, very well. When Amy says it's a high rye bourbon, it's actually the center ingredient. So when you're looking at a high rye bourbon, it means it's over 51% corn, but the middle ingredient is rye, and then it's added malt. So if you look at weeded bourbons, a weeded bourbon is over 51 corn, but wheat is the second grain added, and then malted barley. So when Amy's talking about rye as part of the bourbon mash bill, it means that rye is the second largest ingredient inside the whiskey to give it that spice. So the malt helps with fermentation and flavor, but the rye or the wheat in the center of the bourbon can determine whether you have a spicier bourbon or sweeter bourbon. And it seems to me, folks, that Amy McGrath loves it spicy.

[Amy McGrath]

I do, I have to say, I'm, I'm, I, I like the rise every time you go. And you do like these bourbon tastings where they give you four or five different ones. It's always the rye one that's maybe not the top, but it's always like number two or number one that, that I pick out.

[Denver Riggle]

Well, I mean, part of it, I think, you know, I'm a weeded bourbon guy, but I love, right, some of the ride bourbons, right. I like a little bit more of the butterscotch and a little bit more on the finish. But rye, I tell you, get the right rye, it's almost, and you're gonna laugh, but it's almost like a combination of vanilla and you're licking a leather strap with a little bit of pepper, right? And I think that is why I love rye whiskeys. I'm sorry, rye based bourbons, but also why I love rye whiskeys. Because there's some days you just want a fighter whiskey. You want a whiskey that wants, you want to fight, right? And you're like a rye, rye bourbon or a rye whiskey. And that's why I think Amy McGrath like spicy whiskeys. I'm just going to say that. Cheers.

[Amy McGrath]

That's good. Cheers. All right, now.

[Denver Riggle]

That is. I'm drinking. Listen, I'm drinking an Irish right now, Amy. I just want to let you know I'm drinking Green Spot, you know, which is a combination of unmalted and malted barley. That's an Irish, but it's aged in a bourbon barrel, unfinished in other barrels. But I wish I was having the Basil Hayden with you right now.

[Amy McGrath]

Can you do that again with that. That voice? That's really. That's, like, you know, really good.

[Denver Riggle]

This whiskey really finished nicely. It's very nice.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah. International man of mystery. Good. All right.

[Denver Riggle]

Yes.

[Amy McGrath]

Okay, let's go to quick shots.

[Denver Riggle]

Hey, if you're looking to be hired by the federal government, you know, I think you got to get ready to write the worst book report of your life. As you know, and we said this a little bit earlier, all civil service applicants are now required to write an essay to be hired. So here's my thing. If I'm writing an essay on how to actually implement President Trump's executive orders or legislation, what the hell am I going to say? And it looks to me that any. Anybody that's trying to be hired right now, Amy, it looks like they're going to actually have to have a loyalty test. And I'm to the point. I don't even know what to say anymore. If you have civil servants that have to show loyalty to the president, United States to get hired.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah. It's just so wrong. And one of the. I guess they have to write three essays, and one of them has to do with how are you going to support and get behind Trump's executive orders and stuff like that. I mean, it's just. It's just wrong anyway.

[Denver Riggle]

Well, you know what I would do? I would use AI. I would use GROK to write the essays. That's what f. You know, writing this for real. But that would be. If you sell your soul, you know, just use grok, AI or chat GPT to write the essays. Folks, just a little bit of advice from Denver.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah, that's good advice. Hey, Dan, if it's a day that ends in a Y, then the Trump administration is once again attacking women and their access to health care. Earlier this week, the Trump administration rescinded guidance implemented during the Biden term that required hospitals to stabilize patients needing emergency care, even if that meant performing an abortion. So, yeah. Do you remember, here's the thing about this. When I was on the campaign trail and we talk about abortion, because it would come up, it was a big issue. When I talked to conservatives, mostly men, they would always say, I'm really against abortion, but not in the case of the life of the mother. What the Trump administration is doing right now is basically saying, the life of the mother does not matter. That's where we're at.

[Denver Riggle]

Well, I have a wife, three daughters, and three granddaughters. Amy, you have a family of love, light and lollipops. And here's the thing this, to me, declares war on women in health care in a way that people like me, a white male of 55 years of age, wants to fight. And I wonder at what point husbands are going to step up for the women in their lives. Their mothers, their wives, their daughters, granddaughters, nieces, friends. At what point do you say enough is enough? We're not going to kill women because we have idiots in charge who seems to ascribe to this Christian nationalist way of looking at things. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but that's how I feel about it.

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah. I mean, so if. If you are in a. If you're a woman in a state like Idaho or Texas, where abortion is essentially illegal, and you are. Your. Your life is at stake. You're, like, bleeding out. You're gonna die. Guess what? The doctors cannot necessarily be able to give you care because they can't perform an abortion. It used to be that you could do that for the life of the mother in an emergency situation, and that. That was kind of the rule. Now. No, no longer.

[Denver Riggle]

It's worse than a banana republic. We just become murderers at that point. And, I mean, it's just awful. And. And anyhow, just not. Not the greatest thing, right? But speaking of people maybe dying, Jim Morrison needs to step aside now, right? No one here gets out alive crap, right? Because there's a new angst poet in town, and it's Joni Ernst who said that we're all gonna die anyway. We're talking about Medicaid cuts. What do you think about that, Amy? You think we're all gonna die anyway, so why have any type of real health care for people in need anyway?

[Amy McGrath]

Yeah. Well, no, she was at a town hall, right? And somebody, when she was talking about the Medicaid cuts, and first of all, she was lying to people, basically saying, oh, no, the bill doesn't do anything, doesn't kick people off of Medicaid. It just takes the people that aren't supposed to be on it initially, and it gets rid of them. It gets rid of their Medicaid fraud, which is like, not what the bill does at all. Okay? But then when. When a woman called her on that and said, hey, you're gonna kill people. This is gonna. This is gonna kill people. And she responded, well, we're all gonna die. And then instead of, like, saying, yeah, maybe that wasn't the right thing to say, 24 hours later, she comes out with a video, and I think she was, like, in a graveyard, if I'm not mistaken.

[Denver Riggle]

She was doing.

[Amy McGrath]

She was doing a video and she basically said, I'm really sorry for saying all that stuff. And at the end, she made fun of the person who said it, saying that, you know, well, we. We should all believe, you know, in the tooth fairy and all this. And to me, it's just. It's just really sad to look at somebody like Senator Ernst, who I once thought was a serious lawmaker, to see that she now has to play to the dumbest, most vile, mega base of people and just be mean. It's just that that comment is just like, in doubling down on it.

[Denver Riggle]

It's just meant to be dumb is the biggest loading block in maga.

[Amy McGrath]

I was just really sad to see. I looked at the video and I was like, oh, man, come on, Joanie. Like, seriously, I mean, if anything, you should have just. You should have just left it. If you didn't want to apologize, just. Just leave it. Just leave it and move on.

[Denver Riggle]

They think they're Donald Trump, that they can double down, never apologize, and move with it. And I think with Joanie, you know, met her or talked with her, here's the thing, she has to go along to get along with the most ignorant portion of her constituency. So she went ahead and she doubled down on stupidity and ignorance and hate. That's what she is now. Because once you do that, there's no going back. I don't know how you pull yourself out of that ignorant, flat spin. Amy. I just don't know.

[Amy McGrath]

Imagine that she. She really believes it. I can't imagine. I mean, she's a super smart, educated woman. I just, just. It's just the, the playing the, the lying is real and then the turning around and, and, and having to be mean. And you can tell she's uncomfortable doing it. You know, it's not like, not normal for her. So she doesn't pull it off really well, but it's just really sad to see from, from my perspective, anyway.

[Denver Riggle]

Well, it's almost like the whole thread of this show with all the incredible things we discussed. I'd like to cheers to you, Amy. Is about how we really are in a war against dumb. Cheers.

[Amy McGrath]

Cheers.

[Denver Riggle]

And if people want to hear more about the war against dumb, they better damn well subscribe to our podcasts and our YouTube channels because we have a live coming up. They better follow us on our socials, Amy. Right. Because the live is going to be crazy. It's going to be crazy.

[Amy McGrath]

It's gonna be fun.

[Denver Riggle]

It's gonna be fun.

[Amy McGrath]

I hope you join us June 10th.

[Denver Riggle]

I hope they do. And hey, cheers to another incredible truth in the barrel. And thank you Amy.

[Amy McGrath]

Cheers to another great show and welcome home, Denver. It's great to have you back in.

[Denver Riggle]

The U.S. good to be back.

[Pete Hegseth]

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