← "YOUR WELCOME" with Michael Malice
"YOUR WELCOME" with Michael Malice
WINNING: Eric July vs. Leftist Corporate Entertainment | "Your Welcome" #415
01:20:13
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- [00:00]
A
Okay, don't laugh. I'm gonna laugh.
- [00:03]
B
I bought a domain at 2am last night.
- [00:05]
A
I love that for you. It was just there calling to me. Where? On wix. I even built a whole website last night with its AI website builder WIX Harmony. But I was still in bed by 2:30. So you should be proud of me. That was very responsible of you. You should try it too. Maybe I will just go to wix.com domains folks, my new graphic novel, A Tall Tale of the Old Westland New Wave is out for pre order now. I've been working on this for 25 years. It's a dark comedy with a shiny exterior. Please check it out@unwantedbook.com. Good afternoon. Michael Malice here. Let that be your welcome for the next hour. I am ecstatic to speak with our next guest, returning guest, Eric V. July, creator of the Ripperverse, Creator of Rip Ascend. Eric, we are collaborating together on a project that I've been working on since the year 2000. I am very ecstatic to talk about that later. But first I want to tell people a little bit about who you are and how they probably know your name. So a big argument in I think contemporary culture is, is Woke dead? And I am a comic book fan, a comic book character. I've been watched sadly as Woke took over my favorite DC comics. I get a good example of this is there's something that my favorite series is a Legion of Superheroes. It takes place a thousand years in the future. And you have Chameleon Boy, who's orange, and Shadow Last is blue, and Brainiac 5 is green, and Quizlet's little spaceship. And you have Telus who's like an amphibious thing with a bubble on his head. But nope, we gotta make Lightning Lad black because it's not enough that we have all the colors of the rainbow in these characters. No, we gotta have a black guy in there. Even though in the 70s they had one with an afro and they sent him to another dimension where he was never heard from again. Now, the answer as you and I agree to Woke Comics isn't anti Woke comics. It's good comics. So I want you to talk a bit about how you created the whole Ripperverse and whether you think the bigger question we'll get into is Woke Dead. Yeah.
- [02:48]
B
Which is a fantastic question, by the way, but similar background where come from just world of comics. People that have watched me over the past years, even back when I was on fire from the Gods as the front man of that band in the early 2010s that would see all the, the comic book based merchandise and everything that I would rock out. This was something that was part of my life for as long as I could remember. And we all saw it kind of go in a direction various ways. It was, yes, the content problems plagued it, but also with the issues of like continuity errors or rather issues. There were several different versions of the same character running around at the same time. It made it very confusing to keep up with. And you know, I got to a point to where I could feel it like myself. I became very self aware and understood that I was doing a lot of griping and I'm a man of solutions and I've done creative things for the better part of my life and namely as a musician, but publishing nonetheless. And I wanted to be a part of the solution rather than constantly griping about the problem. And so I created the Ripperverse, got a couple of guys that were part of the industry and both Cliff Richards as well as Gabe El Taib, they were veterans. And I obviously created my first character in Isom and it just absolutely exploded. And a lot of that explosion had to do with, yes, I had a bit of a launching pad, right? It wasn't like I was just unknown, but a lot of it was the, was the vision acknowledging where comics had gone over the last years and just promising the audience having a, you know, visible code of ethics, just telling them, okay, this is what this company is about and this is what we want to do and we would love to have you along for the ride. And we went out of our way. I mean, you brought up a very, very important point in that the whole anti wokeism is not necessarily an answer at all. It may be more or less like an overcorrection or maybe it's the same problem depending on what way that you view it. People just want some fun stuff. And I remember those very first interviews that we would do, I go on Fox and we'd correct them. We would say, hey, this isn't about being anti woke. It's just about being just, just, just not that it's about just creating, it's about having, having fun. And yeah, it just, it just worked out. And that ended up turning into Rip a Sand, which we have now, which is the creator own wing where guys like yourself can take advantage of the, obviously the pipeline and everything that we have, but you continue to own your, you know, that, that, that's your concept and we're just kind of just sending it over the finish line and it is an absolute blessing. I'm having the most fun that I can ever remember having creating. And yeah, I'm not spending my days griping as much anymore.
- [05:40]
A
Yes. But do you think that, like. So let's talk. I want people I think don't know their history. And there's something that people who are non comic book fans should understand as well. Wokeism in comics is not recent. So in the early 70s, I can only speak for DC. I can't speak for Marvel. There's a character called Green Lantern. And then it was. Who has a power ring. There's Green Arrow, who's basically a Batman clone. And he's just got all these arrows of different things and they combine them. And there's a guy named Denny O' Neill and it was, I think 71, 72. And they decided to have something called relevance in comics. Right. So comics, which is about Superman punching aliens in the face in space, that doesn't cut anymore. We got to have relevance. And there's a very famous page that they still pat themselves on the back over to the point where their shoulders dislocated where this old black guy standing, a Green Lantern. And he says, green Lantern, I read this story in the newspaper and on this planet you saved the purple skins, and then you went to this other universe and you saved this planet of orange skins. What have you ever done for the black skins? Answer me that. And Green Lantern goes, I, I can't. And you're sitting there, I'm like, this saved the entire universe multiple times. Fuck you. But they're still like, saving the world's not enough. You have to march on Selma. And they think this is profound. And it's been reprinted 50 times over the years. I think one of the. And I want to hear your thoughts on this. One of the things about woke is it's just so painfully earnest and cringe. It's just not entertaining.
- [07:16]
B
Yeah, and that's the big mistake, right? I mean, if you took them at face value, which I don't think anybody should, should ever do that. You know, they're not exactly rein. Like, well, I guess they're maybe attempting to reinvent the wheel. This is not new concepts. I mean, believe it or not, people, if you live in America, you've seen black people, you've seen Asian people, you've seen people of all different walks of life. It's not necessarily ground breaking, even for those Times in the 70s. It wasn't groundbreaking then and especially not now. But yes, it comes off as incredibly forced oftentimes because it is, it's that, that's the driving. It's not even a narrative. It's. That's the driving force of the general concept that they're attempting to come up with. So they lead with that. All of the marketing schemes and plans are surrounded around this, this, this concept of okay, well this is black, black or gay, gay or whatever it may be. And it comes off as superficial, it comes off as cheap. And most importantly, it's not entertaining even to the supposed demographic that they are trying to appeal to. It's not entertaining because they're not leading with that first. And that's what really started to plague the, the comic book industry. And really a lot of like many different industries, especially more during like the mid 2010s where everybody just ramped it up like it was. Oh, we, we saw the seeds getting planted over the several decades but then it just went. They went in a hyper, hyperspeed with everything across pretty much every single subculture in entertainment. And it just came off as so for so incredibly cheap and people openly rejected it. It's really. When you say that it's dead. I think that it depends on how you want to answer that. Because I do not believe just with the conversations that I've had with folks that are in publishing, it doesn't seem that those folks necessarily get it yet. Right? They just think that they really haven't. Like it's all about the marketing. Right? That's been the, the reason why it hasn't caught on. It's not because the content lacks or because it's entertaining. It's that they just aren't marketing it properly. So when you look at it from that perspective, I don't think it is. But as far as the audience is concerned, early on you may have been able to get away with it, but I think they're, they're very sensitive to that type to the point to where they're sniffing it out almost immediately. And you're just not going to be able to really get away with it. Sure, maybe on rare occasion, but most times when you start leading with that stuff, people are like, I don't want anything to do with this.
- [09:51]
A
Here's what I think. Why WOKE has a means of surviving. And I want to hear your thoughts. This because the theory I have in publishing, comic publishing and non comic publishing, how it works is I'm an editor. I get a proposal, I bring that proposal for my publishing board and everyone looks at it. They are like, okay, this sounds like something good for us. You make an offer, you get the deal, it comes out. Most books do not earn back their advance. I think it's like 80% of books do not earn back what they pay the author. If I'm putting out a woke book though, and it fails, it's not my fault. It's the racist audience, it's the race, it's the homophobic audience, it's the misogynist audience. So I don't have to worry as an editor if I have a bad track record of delivering flop after flop. It's not my fault, everyone. It's the audience that's, that's stupid. And this is an effective strategy for someone who's a screw up. But the incentives therefore are really distorted because it makes the person not have to have responsibility for the risk they take.
- [10:56]
B
It's a great way to put it. It's more acting like a shield. Yeah. Almost from really dealing with those consequences. Because yes, if we are, we're in more of a meritocracy, say sensible. They would analyze that. If they're looking at the data, seeing that this editor or shot caller, whatever position that they're in, they're not bringing in the bucks, they're not green lighting the right types of projects. This is not economically sound. But then you get to say, well, yes, to your point. It's because the, the racist chuds or the homophobic chuds got a hold of that. And, and that was the reason. So if they aren't looking at the bottom line, to your point as a reason to justify this person being in that position, then they're going to be able to skate for really forever, as long as that publisher, or usually they're tied to these sort of mega corporations as long as they at least have the money to lose. I guess that person's position is very, very safe. And that's really a big reason. Part of partly, I guess you could say, why I kind of started the Ripperverse. Because you recognize that, right? At least we're still independent. Even with our SHET deal, which I'm sure we'll talk about. You know, we're still the publishers, so we're the ones that assume all of the risk. And if the audience rejects something, I don't get to fall back on pretty much any, any of that. But I think it makes her very more unique material. I think it makes her better, more entertaining material because we always have to be a pq. So it's, it's kind of crazy that it's happened or this is, has, has existed for as long as it had. But when you think about it, to your point, and this is the point that I've brought up when speaking about this topic, it's not really that dollar that they. That they're fighting for, especially when they have that shield. So that's why it feels like in some cases, especially in entertainment, you'll notice that some of these guys almost fell upwards. Right.
- [12:50]
A
They'll get a new position.
- [12:52]
B
They'll be, you know, lead designer or whatever as part of a games company or something like that. And next thing you know, that project may have tanked. And then they move on to even maybe a bigger company or a bigger game or bigger group. And you wonder why that stuff happens is because, well, they're not playing by, let's say, those same sets of rules or rather standards.
- [13:14]
A
Yeah. In my extensive experience in publishing, there's also no sense of shame or guilt or remorse when there's a screw up. It's kind of like, oh, well, you know, that's why pencils have erasers. And a good example of this, to your point, in the comic book, there's someone who is kind of regarded as the villain in terms of leveling DC Comics, and that's a guy named Dan Didio. I don't know if he's still there. He had been a writer on Superboy Comics and his idea when he took over Superboy, and this sounds like I'm making fun of him, but it's what it sounds. He made Superboy the super of a building, like fixing toilets. So he's the Superboy. And this is the kind of thing where if you're in college and you're high, you're passing the ball and you're like, hey, wouldn't be funny if Superboy was a super. And everyone just rolled their eyes because it's so dumb, but they did it. And then that guy got put in charge of DC Comics. I remember when I was working on my book the New Right, which did earn back, my editor told me, you do not have the stature, and he doesn't mean my height, that to criticize William F. Buckley, something William F. Buckley would not have said at all, which was just insane. How much interaction have you had with these kind of corporate comic book people? And how would you describe them?
- [14:36]
B
Wow. I've had a lot over the last couple of years especially. I mean, it's been really insightful and even humbling in some cases interacting with these types. But I think people underestimate just the game that the corporate world plays, especially in publishing. And I don't think the general, like, customer really, truly understands and grasps that. In comparison to something like the Ripperverse, where I'm the owner, the book quite literally stops with me. Yeah, that's not a thing with them. I mean, they're so far removed. Like, guys that are really in control, let's say, of what is put out there on the shelves are so far removed from the head honchos at these various companies. So when I screw up, or if I. Whether it be, you know, someone that's under me and maybe we put out something that wasn't up, whatever it may be, you know, we get punished for that. We get punished for that. Economically, I see it. We have to have those difficult conversations. And it's part of it. What I think is that a lot of those conversations aren't really being had. And if they are being had, it's not necessarily an honest one, because they're having to sort of weasel their way around these very, very uncomfortable positions. Because to what we were just talking about in this last segment, it's. It's that shield that a lot of them. When you had a look, there were a lot of people that some could argue. I'm not gonna sit up here and argue their talent. Maybe people that. That are really tapped into these comics would destroy them there. I'm not even gonna go there. But let's just say there were some people that were writing very prominent characters that didn't truly understand them quite literally at all. Like, one example was there was a Batman comic as an example, and Batman. And this was like right after the. This had to get. This probably was written right after the whole Summer of Love got a George Floyd era esque deal, and Batman was. He was tending to another issue. But as he was going throughout, you know, skies or whatever, he looks down and there's a riot taking place. And instead of doing what you would think Batman would do, go down there, kick some butt, at least try to disperse of this. This massive crowd that is just looting all of these businesses. He goes buy it and says, essentially, well, they have insurance.
- [17:09]
A
No, no, no, no, I'm not.
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B
I'm not making this up, Michael. This is a real comic book that's out there. And so you. You see that you have people in these.
- [17:17]
A
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. I'm going to put my. My autism comic book hat on, okay? Because there was a story arc. I forgot what it's called. Where Gotham was kicked out of the United States. Right. It was destroyed. There's an earthquake. Then there was some plague and then the Supreme Court somehow. So, so Gotham was cordoned off for the United States. Most people fled. All the bridges are blown up. And the, the Batman, the rogues gallery living there was. It was called no Man's Land was the series. And Batman's whole point during that whole thing was to have control and have some semblance of order. So even within the comments, this is how crazy I am with the stuff comic book fans are. We have precedent. We know what Batman would do if stuff like that happens. And also the insanity of Batman saying, oh well, they're just gonna loot. They're not gonna start assaulting people. It's just gonna end there in Gotham.
- [18:13]
B
Right? Exactly. It was totally illogical. That's what you have here, where there's a complete and total disconnect from the, the audience. And more so, more, more importantly, really truly understanding these characters or of these characters with the people that are unfortunately in control of either writing them as well as, you know, publishing them. That's how they get on the shelf. So this is what you've seen throughout the, throughout the, throughout the industry and with the conversations that I've had.
- [18:43]
A
But I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm still triggered. Yeah, I' still triggered. I'm sorry, I'm still triggered. It is triggered. Hold on, let me finish. Hold on. Batman is best friends with Jim Gordon, who is the head of the Gotham Police Department. So the Gotham Police Department we know is not racist. Because if there were racist, Batman would be sitting down with Jim Gordon. Be like, look, this is ridiculous. Even just for purely strategic reasons, this is going to lead to rioting. You got to tell your boys in blue to treat people fairly or this is what's going to lead to. So even in that. I'm sorry, this. I'm going, no, I get it. No, I got you on several levels. I'm upset. Sorry, it.
- [19:22]
B
But that's, that's the world that we, we unfortunately live in. You have that massive disconnect from the guys that are doing, handling publishing versus the big, the top dogs. And sure, I'm sure there's some stuff that they expect from them. Like we need to be publishing this types of, these types of comics because this is what our guys in marketing or the data is saying. And that could be completely incorrect. I think a lot of people in the corporate real world are chasing after an audience that just doesn't really exists. They may think that it does. And maybe social media in certain pockets of it is loud, but they really. It's not a real thing, it's not a real audience. And if it is, it's not one that at least will reach in their pockets and actually pay for, for, for this type of material. So yes, there's just that big, big disconnect. I guess maybe the disconnect is, goes from corporate to the publishers or the controllers rather of the, the publications, the book massive books that are going out there. And also a disconnect between those guys. So the writers, editors as well disconnect between them as well as the customer and the readers and what they actually want. And so it feels like everybody's kind of gone roll now. But I will say this much, with the growth of the Ripperverse, especially over the last two years, because I think those first years, people saw it explode and a lot of people were waiting, you know, seeing, like, is this guy, is this guy for real? Like, is the comics, are they ever going to come out? And things of that nature. And I think after year two, where we published dozens of books, countless amount of books, people knew that we were for real. And so I got to kind of have these conversations with writers and lead editors of some of these other, other companies. And I haven't had a whole lot of pushback from what we're doing. A lot of them have wished, wished us luck. But it does feel that there's a big time disconnect between those three groups that I was mentioning, at least as far as those mega corporations are concerned.
- [21:15]
A
Hey, folks, some of you may know I've gotten a lot more receptive to Maha stuff. I stopped drinking aspartame. And you should stop too, because it'll affect your cognition. And I wish someone had told me that, you know, who had told me that the Maha people knew since the 80s. And I also edited the book called the Paleo Manifesto, which told me a lot about how natural food is a lot better for you than food products. I know, I know you all know already, but cut me some slack. I grew up on Lucky Charms, okay? Because I am a leprechaun. And all the Maha people, the Paleo people, they love colostrum. And let me tell you about what it is. So if you're ready for a healthier gut, glowing skin, stronger hair, and steady energy, you should add colostrum to your daily routine. It all starts in the gut. And once your gut is right, everything else follows. And today's sponsor, Cowboy Colostrum. Yeehaw. I'm a Texan now, you know, it offers the Highest quality bovine, that's cow colostrum available in the US Cowboy colostrum 100% made in America from 100% American grass fed cows. And unlike other colostrum brands, Cowboy colostrum is true first day whole colostrum rich in bioactives like immunoglobulins and growth factors. And don't worry, they only collect the surplus colostrum after the baby calves have had their fill. Cowboy colostrum isn't processed or stripped down. Their colostrum is whole, full fat and high in protein for ultimate nutrient density, making it the highest quality bovine colostrum you can buy. It improves gut health, which then improves everything else. Immunity, skin clarity, steady energy, reduced bloating. It's easy to drink, made with delicious natural ingredients and no artificial flavors. For a limited time, our listeners get up to 25% off their entire order. Just head to cowboycolostrum.com Malice use code malice at checkout. That's Cowboy C-O L-O-S-T-R-U-M.com Malice 25% off. Not too shabby. I came home yesterday and waiting for me was a cherry tree. And unlike the warmonger that founded this country, I am not going to chop it down. But that's a side point. Let's get back to fast growing trees. Trees make great gifts for somebody or yourself because it's unique. It's the kind of thing where you will look at every day and be like, oh look, this thing's growing thanks to my friend or thanks to myself. I've made this happen. And I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know. Believe me, I know. Oh, I don't know how to grow plants. I kill all the plants I grow. That's what makes fast growing trees great because they're grown with care, they're guaranteed to ride healthy and their alive and thrive guarantee promises that. And you can get ongoing support from trained plant experts who can help you plan your landscape, choose the right plants, learn how to take care of them so they will help you pick the plant, the tree that will work with your environment and your needs. So instead of just going to the store being like, oh, this looks cool, there's information there that will tell you this is something you can handle. You don't need a big yard. You don't need a lot of space. You can even grow olive or fig or avocado trees indoors with a ton of houseplants. They got them all. You don't have to drive around. Just have the same stuff everyone else does at the big box stores. They've got a huge selection and it'll tell you if it's right for where you live. You put in your zip code. It tells you the zone. Grow with expert care. Plant scientists on staff backed by their alive and thrive guarantee. Go to fast growingtrees.com it's the best right now. Fast growing Trees has great deals on spring planting essentials. Up to half off on select plants. Listeners to our show get 20% off the first purchase. Use code WELCOME at checkout. That's an additional 20% off. Better plants and better growing at fast growing trees.com use code WELCOME at checkout. Fast growing trees.com code WELCOME now's the perfect time to plant. Is true. Let's grow together. Use welcome to save today. Offer valid for a limited time. Terms and conditions may apply. Let's get back to show. So there's something else. And this is something, you know how in the same way that Gamergate at first was just video games, but then it became a cultural touch point and it led to the broader culture war that kind of culminated in Trump's election in 2016. I wrote about that and you're right. There was recently some huge scandal in terms of comic book creators not getting paid, being worked to all hours. I think someone even passed away. This is something that it starts in one space and I think it permeates throughout the broader culture because comics and movies and politics, we saw this during COVID they are all interchangeable. There's kind of a merry go round. Can you bring up people up to speed onto the scandal that recently happened?
- [25:57]
B
Yeah, so what? There was even a hashtag that was going on at the time and it was called Comics broke me. Right?
- [26:04]
A
Yeah.
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B
And it was a bunch of creators, mainly artists, some of them were writers as well. Basically talking about getting worked into the ground, but also not getting paid in a, let's say, timely manner. There were people that will go, some went on record, others, others more so were saying it off the record or anonymously saying that, hey, I'm backed up on, you know, six invoices for a project by this notable publisher. And either the rates aren't good or they're, they have these very high expectations of them and where they're getting worked into the ground and they're not getting paid and they're finding out that they can't really eat the status that maybe working for a more notable publisher gives them. This is something that has really plagued this industry for a very, very long time. And that's the economics. And you. You and I have known each other for years, and that's my background. Right. That's not their background. They do not truly understand any of that. And the economics. Anybody that I would love for people that are kind of in our space to just look at the back end of how comics work. And you would be like, it is a wonder how it has been able to skate by as long as it has, because this does not make any sense. It is not sound. And I think what happens is that they started to trickle down and really start to impact the creators that were involved. And, yeah, that's a big thing. There have been some. We've seen some companies come and go, or rather go especially post Covid and even going bankrupt. And I got artists that are working for me now that never got paid for entire books that they. That they did because some of those companies may have went under. So it's unfortunate, but this is an issue that is really just plague that plague this industry. And we have a very long way to go. But you're in this tough position, let's say, let's imagine that you are a writer or an artist and that was your dream. Maybe your dream was to write these notable characters that you grew up with. And then you like, would you rather not get paid or rather maybe get paid a lot less and that status matters a little more to you or your dream coming true matters a little more to you? And that's that constant juggle. Right, that they're having an issue for. Because you'll find that a lot of these guys are writing some of the top tier, I mean, characters, the most notable characters of all time, and they are barely able to eat.
- [28:39]
A
Yeah. And it's also crazy because I think this is a relic of, I'd say the 80s. You had two dogs, Marvel or DC? And if DC can tell you, where are you going to go if we don't have you, we'll tell Marvel or Marvel, figure out, fine, maybe you'll go to Marvel. But those two places, and it's a wrap for you. And it's a very. The WWE with Vince McMahon was something very similar. It's like, if I snap my fingers, you're gonna dance, boy. Because this is. I'm the big dog. This is my house. And if you don't like it, what the hell are you gonna do about it? And I think that attitude still. Batman is a international cultural phenomenon for decades. So if I'm D.C. or Warner, whatever. And I own Batman. And you're some writer who's the important figure in this. It's Batman, it's not you. And they will remind you of that every moment. And it's I think very, it kind of speaks almost into like this 1930s Hollywood studio model where you go to Hollywood as this kind of wide eyed kid and then you're broken in a prostitute couple years later because you realize how soulless it is.
- [29:45]
B
Yeah, yeah. And it's unfortunate to see, man, because I, I've seen the unhappiness. Right. A lot of creators that we've collaborated with here at the Ripperverse, a lot of them have done plenty of the. No, most notable care. I mean I brought up Cliff Richards. He's done everything from no, Shazam on Up and Down. You know, you, you know Chuck Dixon, Chuck Dixon, another one. He's done someone, I mean some of the most, I mean arguably the defining characters with regards to the Bat family as well. And yeah, it's just economically none of it makes any sort of sense. And you may go into it and this may be a dream. I'm not going to sit in a lot to you. At one point it was one of mine. You know, it's something that I did maybe would check off the list when I was much older than what I am now. But I, I really had those aspirations at one point. And then I kind of, I find a lot more fulfillment, I'm not gonna lie to you, in creating my own characters, doing what we're doing with the Ripperverse. But make no mistake, but I know not everybody has, let's say that that luxury and that's the thing that they're always constantly juggling. Because the other thing is this, Michael, is that they're really with those big dogs that you had mentioned. Aside from some of these other publishers, like, like not just us obviously there's some other like mid major publishers that are out there that maybe have their own universes or their own characters. So they're able to pay out these, these page rates. But as far as whether or not, let's say your project loses money, that's really. The big dogs are the only ones that have that, that, that luxury. And they're very aware of that where they can. They're almost like a, it's almost like a sugar daddy of, of the industry, those two, because they're the ones with the big pool of money because they have access to those characters and they're the ones that can arguably afford to pay you Those page rates, but they're also privy to that and they're also aware of that as well. So it's a sticky situation, but that's just the world that we live in. A lot of the notable concepts that people love, whether it be characters, worlds and what have you, they're owned by these massive international corporate. Corporate entities. And they know what power they will.
- [32:03]
A
Well, I've got good news for you. And people listening to this, people might not realize this. Superman is going to become public domain, I think. What, in the next 10 years? Something like that? It's something very soon. So when. When Eric and I are both anarchists and we're not particular fans of intellectual property. Put it mildly. So for a long time, I think it was. I think it was 50 years or something after a character is created, it is the exclusive property of the creator. And Disney, which has Mickey Mouse and Snoopy and not Snoopy, sorry, Goofy and so many others, they kept lobbying Congress to make sure their monopoly on those characters was maintained. Because their argument was, well, if anyone can make a Mickey Mouse movie, we're going to lose all our profit. It's not the same as a drug, even if you believe in it for drugs. That just means there's gonna be more Mickey Mouse movies and the brand will be more valuable. Anyway. Point being, they kept postponing it. Postponing it, Postponing. Just adding decades now. I think Congress finally been like, enough's enough. So in the coming years, things like Superman and Batman will be public domain and anyone can write their own Superman or Batman story or movie. And I'm just excited the idea of what AI and the creativity of everyone out there will be able to do with these characters. Because another thing people don't realize is, it's my understanding, I'm not an attorney, that if a character is not published or in use for a certain amount of times, it becomes public. So DC and Marvel have to keep putting out comic book series of characters that have never been popular just for IP reasons alone.
- [33:39]
B
Yes, that's why if people wonder why some of these characters kind of come out of nowhere, they feel like they skipped the line in some of their adaptations. That's exactly why. Yes, there are legal ramifications there. You have to continue to use that and exercise those quote unquote rights there. And they're, they're. They're hyper, hyper aware of that stuff. But yeah, it's going to make for a very. And I think just in general, there's. We've seen this decentralization of entertainment over the last 10 years, that's been my feeling that I've. That I, That I get with the growth of technology, the growth of the connectivity, I think plays a bigger role in that and that people now can go directly to their audience. Right. Rather than having to go through. Because really, back in the gap, you know, I was just doing some research on this the other day. It's kind of crazy that up through, up until 1986, before Fox came in, there were only what, three major broadcasts? Oh, yeah, that was it. Or for 30 years. Thirty years prior to that, it was, I think from 56 to like 86, only three. Right. And so, you know, that has a way of controlling kind of what entertainment we have access to. Well, those days are long gone. I mean, there's. There's a countless amount. We've seen what happened with streamers and there's a countless amount of entertainment out there, which makes this almost like the Wild west again. It's. It's exciting to me and it makes for a very competitive market now. Yes, you're. You're constantly having to also update your. Your economic model because there's a lot of uncertainty there. But it's fun. It's very, very fun. Competitive, but extremely fun. So, yeah, we have these, we've had these characters exist for several years. I mean, several decades. I think to see people be able to finally exercise their. The creativity that they have, put it out there for the market and actually connect with the right audience is great. I'm not of a believer that, well, this is of my opinion. I think it's all sort of monoculture thing is over with. The mass appeal age, I think, is over with. I think those are going to be reserved for those mass massive IPS they got to take advantage of again, being like the only gig in town. But that doesn't mean that you won't see success. Sure, there may be more niche, but that doesn't mean that there won't be successes. And that, that makes it very fun because I've seen a lot of cool projects get off the ground over the last five years.
- [36:08]
A
Yeah. And they have to be in a sense protective of those characters because they got to milk them for like a century. Right. I remember there was a show there when Trump had a show of the Apprentice and there was an episode. And the challenge for both teams was to create a viral video. And the sponsor was Tide, I believe, the detergent company. And it was so. And who knows how real this stuff is? I'm just, I'M just taking a face value was on the screen. And it really seemed like these two people running Tide just heard this phrase viral video. And they took in their head to mean like free commercial. And both teams did a great job. I remember one of them had like dwarves, like in the washing machine and they're running around on skateboards and it's like really fun. And the two corporate hacks were mortified. Tide is a family company. Oh my goodness. And both teams lost. They had to get someone fired. But you can imagine someone pitching a story. If I had to write a Batman story, this would be my Batman story. It would be Dr. Hugo Strange puts him in therapy and he gets over his parents murder. And now he doesn't want to be Batman anymore. He just wants to get laid. Because the whole point of Batman is that it's a trauma response that he becomes a furry and starts punching people in the face because he can't get over his parents getting murdered. And how are two billionaires going down an alley without a bodyguard anyway? And they're celebrities. That doesn't make any sense. That would be. But you could never do that with DC because again, Batman just has to follow a certain script that he's been following for 90 years at this point.
- [37:44]
B
Yeah, yeah, it's, it's, it's going to make for very interesting times because I think there were a lot of concepts that people, if you try to, even if you understood the character right, and you tried to maybe pitch that to a bigger company, it doesn't matter whether it's a TV show, comic book, damn, it doesn't matter. They just were not going for it. And I think the, the times have changed so much in that. Well, now that idea, you can say cool. I just do it myself. Like.
- [38:12]
A
Yeah, right.
- [38:12]
B
You know, I have the, the, the, the. I guess it's a lot more affordable. I mean, I've seen some cool things be shot on these, like with these short films that people are doing. And I'm like, you know, a film that used to cost, you would think, you know, several million dollars, people are doing it on a mirrorless. Like it's nothing. And it's like crazy just how much more affordable things have become and that they can't, they no longer can. Gatekeep. Yep. That, that entertainment anymore because now I can get it out there to the, to the public out there without having to compromise anything. And sure, it may not ever get off the ground. For that matter. That's not a guarantee that you will see any success. A Lot of people that think they have bright ideas and then a market responds and they say maybe not so much. But what's different between today's day and age versus prior decades is that now you at least have the tools to put the cool idea out there. And that's why something like the Ripperverse have something like ripple verse doesn't happen in the 80s. It's impossible for something like that to happen. Where a guy, remember I, I came from a background more so and my entertainment background was in music. I did like ghost writing obviously as well, but mine came from, from music. And a guy that has a, was a comic book life for putting his ideas together then coming up with a character like Isom and the various others like that was something that would been unheard of to do it themselves like that and put that out there and see that success. Unheard of. And now I feel like every week I'm reading about some independent studio, a game company that ends up exploding and they had a, you know, sometimes even a solo dev, right. It's like a guy that was, you know, working his day job over the last few years and came up with this fun concept and now people love it that you're going to see a lot more of that in years to come. And that's what makes this exciting.
- [40:06]
A
So I am a sucker for niche brands that bring something cool and new to the market. Van man nailed it. So what they did, they started that tallow trend a few years ago with their grass fed tallow moisturizers and they've been killing it ever since. I use their eye cream. It's so fun. It's this little thing, it's got pearl in it, smells like lemon you put on your eyes, it kind of moisturize it. It's fun before you go to bed. What do I know? I like it. And here's something else. They've got their miracle tooth powder. So if you look at your toothpaste, you got fluoride, glycerin, foaming agents, blah blah blah. So they Van man has miracle tooth powder. How old timey is that? So what they have is real grass fed cattle bone hydroxyapatite. I don't know what that is, but I do know it's the same mineral structure as rectal teeth. So it remineralizes and strengthens enamel naturally. And most of that stuff that's on the market is synthetic. They use the real thing from grass fed cattle loaded with virtually same minerals needed to rebuild tooth structure. Zero fluoride, zero SLS Zero foaming agents. It's completely edible. Do you not want to tell people that you brush your teeth with cow bones? How badass is that? And here's the thing. You wake up without that gross film in your mouth because there are no flowing agents destroying your natural saliva production. Powdered cowbones. It's literally like magic. That sounds like a magic ingredient. Make the switch to real oral care. Go to Vanman Shop Malice. Use code malice for 15 off your first order. That's Vanman Shop Malice. Use code malice. 15% off your first order. Van man. Real ingredients, no exceptions. Thanks, Van Man. Let's get back to the show. It's funny because that what you just told is the story behind my graphic novel. I started writing it in 2000, and it was a real life story of this band from the 80s that combined punk and country. They really were trying to do something different, and they'd be at, like, punk shows and. And they're doing these awful Hee Haw jokes like, hey, Bob, I'm exhausted. Why are you exhausted? Oh, the couple at the next hotel room were up all night eating candy bars. Candy bars, Bob. Yes. She kept yelling, oh, Henry. Oh, Henry. And the audience like, what the fuck is this? It's like kind of Andy Kaufman trolling stuff. There are school kids from school Design. They got. I'm spoiling the book a little bit. They got signed the same day as Bon Jovi, by the same guy who said, I'm taking you both to number one. And it's a dark thing because they didn't really have much to show for it. That's why the book's called Unwanted. But I was at the gym here, and I had what I would call the opposite of a nervous breakdown in that the parts of my brain fell into alignment. And I called my buddy Tom woods, very failed podcaster, and I'm like, tom, I'm just having this weird, emotional I've never felt before, because if that band had been around now, they wouldn't have had to go nowhere. They could have been on Soundcloud or some of these other sites. Maybe the audience wouldn't be huge. But as an independent creator and doing something really out there and original, they could have found that audience and paid that rent. So it's a dark, dark story of the 80s, and there's a lot of dark humor to it, but it's also kind of a white pill in the sense that this wouldn't have to happen today, right now, because I don't know how many. How many record labels there were maybe six you'd know better than me back in the 80s. But now you don't need that record label. You tour, you put your CDs out there, you could. What? CDs. I got them. Such a boomer.
- [43:49]
B
Physical media is making a return. So. Yeah, CDs, vinyls, even. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [43:54]
A
You put it out there, you have the merch. It's. It's really easy. Not easy, but it's much easier than it would have been, you know, when I started writing this. So it's just kind of exciting to, I guess, almost also tell a history of how bad it used to be and how much better it is now.
- [44:09]
B
Yeah, I mean, I. Blessed, obviously, to have grown up during this kind of age, because I even look at my. My band, my second band, and backwards and how we were able to just, you know, take advantage of that. When everybody was telling us, I was. I think it was a front end of where everybody was still telling us, you have to go to a label, you have to do all these different things. And I was like, no, I think I like this Internet thing here. It's allowed me to connect with an audience. And sure, I might not. We may never be the biggest band, but if we can just find the audience, then we'll. We'll do very, very well for ourselves. And that's what ended up happening. And it's the same attitude that I took going into the. The Ripperverse. And it should be a white pill. I think that that's what really starts to get me about it. When we were talking about this, you know, when we first started the show here, and this whole doom and gloom, black peel kind of approach that I think a lot of people have with entertainment, I despise it. Right. And I get it. You've seen some of your favorite characters get ran into the absolute ground. And it may be a little heartbreaking to see, but you also should look at it like. Well, look at the opportunity that's out there now to where you can do what, like, the Ripperverse did and come up with your own characters and there's an audience for it now because you can now connect with them. That should white peel just about anybody in the like at all. Like, if you have some sort of. If you're inspiring to or aspire to be a creator, like, this is the best era to now do it in. And it's not just like doing stuff yourself. It's also like what we're doing with R.I.P.A. s collaborating with those that have that have built that sort of model and now you're able to get your material out there to people like we. The deal we just got with this, it's unheard of for some. So for an independent publisher like ourselves to be able to now, because now we have the best of both worlds, we maintain that independence as a publisher while also being able to take care of, take advantage of the same pipeline that all the other big publishers have which gets our stuff in the stores. Like that is something that could not have happened 30 years ago, 20 years ago, 10 evening and it's just an awesome time to create.
- [46:21]
A
Let's talk a little bit about this because yeah, my book's gonna be delayed a little bit till December, but if I waited 25 years, I could wait six more months. The one thing that the big boys do well is distribution. You know, getting that book into the airport, getting that book into the bookstores, supermarkets, whatever. That is something that they have figured out. That's something the Gap knows how to do. Tropicana that they got that down. So I. This deal, I knew about it spoiler before it was public, but I don't know the exact details. And this is a huge sea change because what people don't understand is there was almost this guild system where you would be discouraged if you're a distributor from working with non major publishers because they would put pressure on you. You don't. They don't want the competition you're working with. Almost kind of like a mafia thing. You're dealing with us, you know, and we will lean on you to make sure you don't deal with them that's fallen away. And I would love to hear how this deal came about and what it means.
- [47:20]
B
Yeah, this was such a. I mean again, it just. I'll take you back to a couple of years ago, I made this sort of vow not only to my company, the family and the audience, to just be a better professional. Right. Like stop thinking like just a general content creator and think of this like a creator and business owner. And I took that approach to heart as something that I had to improve on year after year. Held my tongue on a lot of stuff. But what I noticed is that those blessings started to kind of come my way. And it wasn't just a shit. Now I'll get to them in a bit. But over the. I say this all the time. I have said no a lot more, more times than I said yes. I passed up on much money, as much money, excuse me, as I've made as the company has made. And we just wanted to do what made sense for us. And what we had was the track record over the last four years. It was that we were doing numbers that were comparable to publishers that are bigger than us while not having access to that distribution pipeline. And that's what's so important. It's not about whether or not you have a book that people would read. It's that you got to understand the distributor almost acts. It's not a middleman. It's more that the bookstores are going to them in order to get their, what they're supplying their stores with. So they have kind of their, their system and it works for them. Right. And so what we've now been able to do with a shit is say, well, we are still the publisher. That was a big distinction that they made sure that they made in the press release. Right? Is that Ripperverse is the publisher, right? They act as the sales and distributor for Ripperverse and Rip A Sin material throughout all major retailers. And it's not just in America and North America, it's world wide. So the, the bookstores that are maybe more local to a France or wherever are going to have access to Ripperverse, most importantly through the channels that they already are used to access. And if you don't know who, who as a publisher is one of the top three biggest publishers in the world, right? And so we get access to that same exact pipeline and sales team and distribution without having to compromise anything that we've already done is quite literally perfect. Our direct to consumer model hasn't changed either. So we still access that, we still sell directly from our site. So if you want to get our site, our stuff directly at Ripperverse or Rippers in, you can do that. But one of the things that they came to us and what they really appreciated was that we were kind of the punk rock kind of company here where we kind of came in, we booked the system a little bit, we did things a little bit unorthodox, we came up with our own business plan. And rather than which a lot of others did come to us to say, well, what if we bought you out? Or what if we became your publisher? Or what if we somehow got that, got that ownership? They were like, no, you already do what you guys do. Well, how do we now take this and scale it up and have you guys take advantage? And we landed on some numbers that made a lot of sense for it was like a no brainer. And they never insulted us. It wasn't a whole lot of negotiation that we needed to do because they knew my non negotiables, they knew what my non negotiables were. So this is something that was really, it's been unprecedented. I'm not saying we're the only third party publisher that does this, but it's not something that a lot of publishers want to do. A lot of big publishers would never, for the most part, do something like that. So unless you, like, know somebody or maybe you know, you're a friend of the owner or something like that. But this is something that was very unique. It was a blessing and I'm glad that everybody gets to take advantage of it. Not just rip a verse, but rip a sin. So, yes, a book like Unwanted gets to be in stores in those airports and it's not just in America, it's worldwide.
- [51:22]
A
I want to talk about a broader topic, which is something I've been. My brain's been stuck on in recent months, is I think during COVID people who ran so, and I've talked about this several times, I really want to hear your input. I think during COVID social media giants got a lot of useful information on how to keep people locked on their screens. And one of the things that we all remember during COVID is everyone was always agitated. Whether you were pro the jab against the jab, whatever. If you're, you're either upset about the disease or you're upset about the regime, I very much was of the second, and I'm sure you were as well. But if I'm Mark Zuckerberg or Elon or running one of these companies, I want you staring at your computer, your phone or your screen as much as possible. And though Covid went away, that data is still there. And I feel that a lot of social media is geared algorithmically to keeping people as agitated and distressed as possible. Not only do I think that's horribly unhealthy socially, I think that's horribly unhealthy personally. Do you have this same sense that I do about how it's been going well?
- [52:30]
B
I mean, I'm glad you brought this up because I can tell you this from experience, right? Like, yes, I also saw this massive explosion through like in social media impressions and engagement and all that stuff during the COVID era, speaking against the regime and what it was doing. But you do that time and time again and you really start to understand. And obviously I was talking about more topics than just like the jab and everything else, but you just realize just how miserable like that, that can easily make You. If you fall down into that trap. Never. I never got there. But I saw a lot of other people.
- [53:07]
A
Oh, yeah.
- [53:08]
B
Like, I saw so many people that I cared about, people that I thought were, like, stoic people losing their absolute minds over this. And so what. What's. You know, when I focus less on, hey, this sucks, or I have and. Or take exception to this thing to, okay, let's be a part of the solution. Yeah. Everything around me seemed to get better as well. I was a much healthier person, much happier. I was. It was a very fulfilling thing to be able to create my own characters and obviously collaborate with other people. And it's so easy to fall in that trap, especially with content, fall into that trap of becoming, like, this spiteful person that is really seeking those sorts of engagements. And I've seen a lot of folks do that, and they end up driving themselves crazy or running themselves into the ground. That's tempting. And I think it's because social media encourages that. Like when I talked about me becoming a better professional, it's odd because social media seems to encourage you to do the exact opposite of that. And it was a harsh reality that I embraced, obviously, and I reap the benefits of it, of it now, and I still have improvements that I have to make. But, man, the soldiers we lost along the way, definitely post 2020, just a. People just going absolutely nuts for. For one reason or another. And I think social media plays a massive role in that.
- [54:36]
A
So here's the big question me and everyone in my kind of circles is asking themselves. And I don't know which side I fall on. And I. And I'm sure you're probably going to be in the middle as well, which is something we, you and I rarely do. Politically. Moderates, there's two scenarios, okay? One is Trump makes both his fans and his opponents crazy. And people say, oh, they were like this during Bush. They were not. I remember the Bush years. They hated Bush. But it wasn't the case that every conversation Bush is going to come up out of nowhere. I remember when I was in Japan a couple years ago, I said this several times. I turn to my friend and I go, isn't it great? We're in a country, we have to worry about someone just bringing up Trump for no reason. And so the idea is, okay, Trump's uniquely deranging, and when he goes away, people are going to come down, or the band aid's been ripped off, the genie's out of the bottle. People are getting crazier and crazier. In whatever sense of the word, and it's only going to escalate. Which of those two do you think is more likely?
- [55:39]
B
Man, that is a question and it's, it's. I could see it going either way for multiple reasons. And I think the, the, the wild card of this is that you to. It's hard to put on whether you're pro in the middle and different or anti Trump for that matter, but what that world looks like, especially geopolitically post Trump, I don't know. I honestly don't know. I've thought about this in various ways. I do not know. I really do not know what the world is going to look like and how people are going to react because I do think there's arguments to be made on, you know, one way or another. You know, if I'm looking at it kind of sky kind of situation, like people can look at the, the maybe the government for what it actually is and be a lot more mindful of the decisions that they, that they make. I don't know if that's going to be the reaction, but I can see it being that because to your point, he's polarizing because there's not that many people that are at least indifferent on him. Right. Like usually, sure, there may be some of us, maybe people have float around that our circle that may be a little more indifferent on it or a little more in the middle on a given topic. But for the most part, it's like you've got guys that are like really pro him. They love everything, these guys that just absolutely hate everything about it. So that's why it's so difficult. And especially over the last year, when you've seen even some of the changes and allegiances from people that were some of his notable supporters. And then on the other hand, I see people that were never especially, you know, around the, let's say this previous election that I would have never thought would have been pro at all Trump, that kind of started to skew in that direction. I don't know. He is such a unique or at least the energy that he gives for these folks, it's just so unique. And that's what makes it so difficult to realize. Like if you're going to try to predict the future, it makes it nearly impossible because you just don't know what the world's going to look like. More importantly, how people are going to react. Not now and not even after this, the midterms after he leaves. I have no idea. I don't know what the gop is going to look like what any of this is going to look like. Hey, it's James Alducher. I've been an entrepreneur, investor, best selling writer, stand up comic and whatever it is I'm interested in, I get obsessed. Yes, it's led to success, but it's also led to such heartbreaking failure. I have failed more times than I can count. I wish in my life I had had people to talk to. That's why I started the James Altatra show and bring on some of the most brilliant minds in every area of life. People like Richard Branson, Sarah Blakely, Mark Cuban, Danica Patrick, Gary Kasparov. And I wanted to find out exactly how they've navigated the highs, the lows and everything in between. No fluff, just raw stories and real advice. I've talked to 1500 of the most amazing people on the planet. So if you want to learn from the best and skip the same old canned interviews, we're all about helping you find your next next big idea, level up your thinking and ultimately to choose yourself. So let's do this together. Subscribe now to the James Altucher Show.
- [59:06]
A
A vacation rental should come with support, not surprises.
- [59:09]
B
That's why VRBO comes with a VRBoCare guarantee and 24.7live support from Real people.
- [59:14]
A
So if something goes sideways, Verbocare can help if the host cancels verbo care
- [59:18]
B
if the listing says heated pool but
- [59:20]
A
there's actually no pool to heat. Definitely a verbo care thing. If my teenager starts calling me Leslie instead of mom, that's a family thing. Leslie.
- [59:27]
B
That makes sense.
- [59:28]
A
Sorry, book with support, not surprises.
- [59:30]
B
Verbo Care and 24.
- [59:31]
A
7 Life Support.
- [59:32]
B
If you know you Verbo terms apply. See verbo.comtrust for details.
- [59:37]
A
Let's get back to the show. I think the thing is people who hated Biden did not hate Biden the same way people hate Trump. And I think even the people who hated Biden these corrupt and senile. He was clearly a puppet. It serves for a broader kind of left wing vanguard or establishment. You could have taken him out, put somebody else in there. It would have been exactly identical. I think even probably Democrats would admit to that. But I remember in the first term the thing is even if you're. I was just. I this one time I felt bad for politicians because I'm imagining I was like some kind of like chamber of commerce establishment Republican. You know I. I have these kind of right of center views. I made my money as a lawyer, as a businessman and every day I gotta wake up and ask myself, what bullshit is this guy up to now? What did he tweet at 4 in the morning while he's taking a dump where I'm putting on my tie? And I'm just all about respectability. And I gotta defend, like. Like, I'm not a fan of Susan Collins at all, right? Or I am. I like that she put Kavanaugh through, but you could only imagine what. She's 70, from Maine, you know, party hack. And he's just talking all this shit, and she's just like, oh, God, how the fuck do I got to defend.
- [60:57]
B
How do I cover this one?
- [60:59]
A
Yeah, right?
- [61:00]
B
It's tough. I don't know. I really. I legitimately don't know. It's a lot of unpredictability. And I think definitely in the age of. With social media involved, it's kind of crazy to see, like, it. You'll go this one week where, you know, you think, man, it's looking really, really bad right now because people's. The morale has changed, right? People are feeling. Feeling this kind of way, often negatively. And then, like, the next week, you know, there'll be something that happens. Maybe it's something that got passed. Maybe it was a tweet. For that matter, it could have been anything. And then I'll watch these emotions go from one end of the spectrum to the complete opposite in a very short period of time. And I think that's what it has. Is fundamentally different from previous, like, presidents. And maybe that's a combination. It's not just his. His. His, like, character and how. Who he is. I know that has a big. It has a lot to do with it, but it's also about, like I said, just how connected people are. And so you're getting this, like, oh, man, it's over. And it's like, oh, we're back again, boys. And it's like, where it's over. And I'm seeing this happen over the span of, like, if not a week, like, sometimes, like, 48 hours. And it's just crazy to see that.
- [62:15]
A
It's like dating a crazy chick because she's great in bed and, oh, man, it's so fun to go to the movies with her or bring her to a party, and then you come home and half your stuff's destroyed because she got some idea in her head, and it's like, what are you talking about? And then the next week, she's buying you new clothes and. And, you know, everything's great. It's just like. And the thing is, I want to remind everyone watching this, who I'm confident has the same response as me and Eric, he's only been back in the White House for a little over a year.
- [62:44]
B
Yeah, we're just getting started, girls.
- [62:46]
A
It hasn't felt like 10.
- [62:48]
B
Yeah, it has.
- [62:50]
A
You really.
- [62:51]
B
We haven't even hit midterms yet. We haven't even hit midterms yet. Like, he's really just getting going for the second term. That's where we're at. It's crazy. It's crazy.
- [62:59]
A
And I think the other thing is because of his. It's easy to forget the Democrats, which is they're waiting to put him and lots of other people in jail. We forget that part. He. How many indictments, whatever he had, you know, come election day. And then they're complaining about, you know, politicizing the Justice Department. Like, that hasn't gone away. They're just waiting. And it's not. And he's right. They're not coming after me. They're coming after you. There's a lot of people in this country who, you know, once you have someone who's a stronger Democrat than Biden, which is pretty much all of them, things get very dicey very quickly. Look at the UK you know, Facebook posts get you thrown in jail. It's not. This isn't some, like, weird third world country. This is the uk which probably of the. Maybe in Canada has the culture closest to ours.
- [63:49]
B
Yes, 100%. Like, it's. It is. That's what I'm talking about when you talk about post Trump and what, what that ends up looking like, because. Yeah, they're going to retaliate. Well, that's their desire, at least. They want to retaliate. They do not like how he booked the system. They do not like for. And then for better or worse, whether you're pro or anti, it doesn't matter. He booked it. And they take exception to that. And there's him and there's others that they for sure want to deal with. They've tried to deal with it. And that's what makes this very, very interesting as well, because oftentimes. And that's. That. That's part of the ebbs and flows, I guess I would think. Like, man, they're. They're sitting. They're sitting, sitting really pretty right now. And then something comes out. And then you see, like, I don't know, a. A mayor was, you know, part of the, you know, doing party favorites for the Chinese, you know, Communist Party. And I'm like, all right, well, that's gotta, that's gotta bring everybody kind of back down to earth, so they can't get out of their own way either. The other side. But you do know that they want to retaliate. So it just this mix. I don't know what's going to happen after hell. I don't know what's going to happen at midterms because I'll even go as guy that's kind of looking at it, kind of zoomed out. I'm like, man, it doesn't look good. But then they'll do something stupid. And I'm like, well, yeah, they. Maybe they're good. They're going to be okay. And then we have all this sort of redistricting. Excuse me.
- [65:15]
A
That.
- [65:15]
B
That's going on as well. That, you know, advantage goes to the Republicans on that. They're picking up seats. And I'm like, I have no idea what's about to happen in these midterms, let alone in the next three years. Have no idea. No idea.
- [65:30]
A
It's. It's. And I, I don't know that I'm entirely happy with it because if it's playing roulette, a lot of those slots are filled with things I don't like.
- [65:41]
B
Yes.
- [65:42]
A
And, and I'm very. I think I, I bring this up all the time because. And I've been proven right, but I wish I was not proven right. Like last March or April, I. I was just talking to people and, oh, the Democrats never going to win again, blah, blah, blah. And it's like, guys, it's not even the end of the first quarter. And also the idea that if the Republicans win everything all the time, that you're going to have a free country has also been proven crazy, as you and I knew very well.
- [66:08]
B
Yeah, no, not, not at all. I mean, we, even with this first term, I mean, it was a lot of people talking about, which I knew. I mean, I talked about it extensively. For example, you know, with this. Whether they were going to use sort of reconciliation bills to, oh, we're going to cut spending or we're going to, we're going to address taxes. Oh, we got to do. But we got to deal with it now. Right? We got to fund all these other things that we don't want to fund because in September we're going to, we're going to, we're going to be able to deal with it now. We have the majority. Don't worry about it. And then nothing happens. Happens. Right. And it's like, yeah, it's, it comes it's like, yeah, they may be making folks that are worse to you, you know, mad. And you may look at that and say, okay, there's maybe some positive in that. But then you realize as well on the other side, sure, there's a lot of stuff that they are for and pro that I want nothing to do with that. And you're kind of caught in the middle of this because you have no idea what, what's going to going to happen. So whether you even look at it as a lesser of the evil kind of situation, it's a great point. And I think people really need to understand that, that you have a Republican majority right now. Slight, but you got it right now. What has it gotten you? So it's not. That doesn't mean just everything is all gravy, baby, just because they do end up winning at all.
- [67:25]
A
I'm curious your thoughts also, because I would have thought maybe that once it's been clearly demonstrated to many people, I wouldn't say most, because that's not a possibility, that the two parties collude to grow government at the expense of everybody else, that there would be more people coming around to our anarchist perspective being like, guys, it's a shell game. You can't win. There's no path in D.C. towards shrinking the state. That big beautiful bill, Are you kidding me? That was all the things that the Republicans rail about for you. I'm glad they defunded like NPR and PBS, but in terms of the percent of the budget, it's not even 0.01% to my understanding.
- [68:04]
B
Yeah.
- [68:04]
A
And the answer seems to be we want authoritarianism. We're going to take that gun and destroy our opponents. But it's like if you have a big warehouse of guns that you're building, you know, every couple of years your opponents are going to take it over,
- [68:19]
B
they're going to wield it against you.
- [68:21]
A
Yeah. Where's that disconnect? Because I don't understand it as well as I would like. What's your opinion?
- [68:25]
B
Yeah, it is a big, big time disconnect because I think, especially now, and I empathize with the position that you may be fed up with the folks that are to the, let's say, left of you economically doing bad things to you, passing bills or supporting bills that steal your money to do things that you find negative. Let's just call it that. I totally empathize with that position. But yeah, and I've had these debates and disputes, obviously on Blaze, notably talking with some of the colleagues over there trying to break that point down and that, okay, especially during a time like right now where you've got, you've got everything that you said we needed to get this country back on track, especially with regards to fiscal issues. Got the presidency, you have the House, you've got the Senate, you've got everything that you said, as long as we get this, this time, we will take care of it. Right? We don't have to worry about, even in, like right now, you don't necessarily, in the presidency, you don't have to worry about reelection. So these two years should be the most productive years that we, that, that we, that we get from you. And you go through the first year and like you said, like with the big beautiful bill, like, oddly enough, despite them having the majority, they're spending more than any other government before them. And it's like that's a big time disconnect because I'm trying to also rationalize with the, with the audience, or rather the supporters, especially of this party, to get them to understand, like, guys, you agree that maybe taxes are too high, or you agree that regulations are an issue. Where we fundamentally disagree is that you think that this, this party at least having that power gives us this opportunity to address those. And my argument has been they've shown me that they will not do that. That doesn't mean that the Democrats are going to do that. And I'm not saying that they are. What I'm saying is that at least they're not the ones campaigning as if they are. You are right. And so that should wake anybody up to this absolute sham, that somehow spending got worse. Right. Spending got worse during this period of time. And you want to talk about what's connected, what I think is even a larger connection. And libertarians have often failed at trying to convey this argument, let's say accurately, is I don't think people understand necessarily the connection between government spending the way that they do and why their money doesn't go as far.
- [71:02]
A
Oh yeah.
- [71:03]
B
And they don't look at those as connected issues. They don't look at that at all. They just see, yeah, this sucks, my dollar's not going as far. But they don't think that, like the addressing of the spending is something that would at least help in that regards. And that's what makes it an extremely difficult conversation to have.
- [71:20]
A
I, I, when I was in college, we had a speaker. I took a semester at American University, I think, and now it's called the American University, whatever. And every class, or every other class, we had a guest speaker, and there was one class, we had a lobbyist. And what he said is something 30 years later, I'm still profoundly moved by. He goes, here's how it works. He goes, I can take a bill and if I'm pitching it to Republicans, I call it the Farm Freedom Bill. And then I can cross out the name and call it the Farm Fairness Bill and go to the Democrats and pitch the verbatim same bill. So the Green New Deal, despite the name, I haven't looked into it. I would bet any money that a huge chunk of it is just payoffs and pork for different groups that, you know, benefit the Democratic Party, including environmental groups that I'm sure there's plenty of others. And the big beautiful bill, I'm sure it's just a lot of I, I, I'm positive that it's just waste on bullshit. And it, I'm sure also huge chunks could have been in one, that's in the other. It's just throwing money payoffs. It's just looting the public treasury. And the thing is, there wasn't even an attempt, you know, like, there's that meme. There was an attempt, there wasn't even an attempt to be like, all right, let's bring spending back to Trump's first term. Yeah, let's undo Biden. Not even an attempt, not even that.
- [72:46]
B
Not even that. Debt ceilings going up like there was nothing. There was no effort there. Like he, it was, it's got worse, it gets worse. Like every single effort, every single fiscal year, let's just say that. And they have an opportunity. You know, I've talked about this extensively, like this idea that, you know, we know if you don't know viewers out there, there's this thing called like the, the bird rule. Right. And, and, and that often gets invoked when these, when the Congress folk are voting on these, on these particular bills. Right. And it requires them to need, let's say, more than, let's say the slight, slight majority. Well, through reconciliation, they have three times each year, they can address spending, they can address taxes, and they can address the debt. Right. I believe those are the three subjects there, that they can all address that if they kept the bills clean, per se, and that's all they address, they would only need 50 votes plus the vice president, and they could pass whatever the hell they wanted. That's not my opinion. You can go look this up yourself. They instead, like they always do, will even combine those three. They can address those separately. Right. Instead, they like what the big beautiful bill does combine all those concepts together, and it is still. It's filled with all this pork that, that's inside it. And they don't address any of those issues. Right. They can address those clean. There's nothing forcing them to say, well, we need everybody to vote on all three of these issues that I just named as part of the same bill. They don't have to do that. You have the majority. This is the time, if you wanted to, to address spending. And they just don't. They just don't. And that's what, like I said, I don't quite know the answer to communicate that. Excuse me. Because if you talk to your average, whether it be your Republican voters out there, they don't see those as connected problems. They don't. They don't look at that like, why does your food cost as much as it does? Or why did things cost more for anything that you want to do? You don't have your income. Your salary hasn't gone up. Right. Your salary hasn't gone up at all, but your money doesn't go as far. And you realize that if I could just get them to connect that, well, the spending is directly tied to this, maybe they will be a lot more frustrated and demand of their, quote, unquote representatives to address those issues. But it's so frustrating because this was the time to do it and they didn't do it.
- [75:16]
A
And the thing that frustrates me the most also is massive spending leads to massive printing and inflation. And inflation, to me is the most evil tax because it hurts the poorest. The first, if someone who's wealthy, they lose 10% their value, they're fine. If you're poor and you can't put food on the table, whatever it is, you lose 10%. That is making some hard decisions for you and your family and that no one cares. And it's really, maybe it's because I'm an immigrant, I don't know. But when you have someone who just has a job and is putting in, maybe I read too much of the old school leftist anarchist, and they're working the factory and they've got a kid at home and they're trying to put food on the table and that's the person you're pickpocketing. You are the devil and you're a horrible human being.
- [76:00]
B
Agreed? Agreed. 100%. And that's what, that's what's so frustrating there, because that's exactly what they're doing. Like, they're the ones that feel that Congress doesn't even feel that they can vote to give themselves a raid. Like they don't feel that at all. So what, they get access to the money first anyway. The banks get access to the money first anyway. When you have that sort of. I Forget what the M2 money supply last time I checked but like over the last like five years it's like well over half of it's been printed. And you're like, you know who that impacts, right? You know that impacts, you know who it impacts first. And the guys that have access to that money first, they, they don't feel the impact of it like you do by the time you get it. And whether you like again your salary's not going up. Like you're still, let's say if you were making 50,000, you're still making $50,000 to try to provide for your family or whatever. And it just doesn't go as far. That's where I'm trying, what I'm trying to do. When I talk about economic subjects I'm like, guys, the things that you're griping about is directly correlates with how the government spends. Right. It's not just a throw in thing when people talk about going to go balance in the budget. It's not just a meme like this is something that is a fundamental issue. Sure, I'd rather us not get taxed. I want that. Obviously I would love that not to happen. I would love for these guys to not be spending money on anything. But even if we just took it, if they could just control it and have it not go up so you could at least stop the bleeding. It will go so far. But the average person just does not see that those as connected issues at all.
- [77:32]
A
And the media as we talked about earlier will defend the person looting a store.
- [77:38]
B
Absolutely.
- [77:39]
A
But they won't defend the person who is honest and putting in the work and can't afford whatever it is, that's
- [77:45]
B
what is really criminalize you in some cases. That was, that's what got me. Look, one of the more heartbreaking stories that I would read during the post, like the George Floyd Summer of love thing that was so frustrating and it wasn't talked about enough. Where you would hear these stories of let's say you were in a. What they, what they call them duty to retreat states where they basically say that you've got to be crawling out of the window before you can protect your yourself or your property. Right. You have to, you have to essentially run away. And you would hear these stories about someone having a shop, they're not rich. Right. These are not some massive mega corporations. They have their shop and obviously guys that don't care coming to bust the place down and take everything out of there. And then they choose to defend themselves and their property. And then they're the ones that get arrested for murder. You know what I mean? Like that right there because they maybe shot a looter or something. And it's like that. When I hear stories like that, it's absolutely heartbreaking. Definitely being on this side and having the company and knowing how. How difficult it is to. To do that and just keep. Keep it running. It's. It's absolutely, you know, no. Heartbreaking. And that to these evil sons of guns are looting day, day by day and making it extremely difficult to just live an honest life where you are serving your. Your neighbor. They're making it. It's like they're trying to make it impossible.
- [79:09]
A
Well, I mean, I know exactly what you mean because that's one of the reasons I'm here in Texas. Yeah. Because I knew full well I have a nice. I had a place in Brooklyn. I had a lot of cool stuff. If God forbid, someone breaks in and I defend myself as best I can. I'm a small dude, first of all. I can't have a gun anyway. But if I did, I am 100 going to jail for doing anything to try to defend myself. And now I have one under my bed and I sleep a content sleep. Eric, I'm very excited. I got, I'm not gonna lie, this project, something I'm super excited about. It's going to come out later in the year ON Want to book.com folks? Head over to Malice Locals.com where Eric will answer questions sent in by viewers. Eric, again, I'm really excited to be moving forward with you. This has been something that's meant so much to me. Thank you so much. We're running out of time. What has been your favorite part of this interview?
- [79:57]
B
As always, getting to collaborate with you. Obviously we see eye to eye and have for a long time. But the most fun part of it now is that we. We're not collaborating in a more legitimate sense. So being able to talk about what we're doing with the shed obviously unwanted in your project. That's what I wanted to talk about. I'm glad more people can, you know, they can kind of get clued in on it. Go in various places, include rippersand.com but just talking about your project, something that you've, you've been able to bring to life now, and we're going to be able to see it in stores as well. It's going to be really, really cool.
- [80:28]
A
So. Well, thank you very much and you are welcome. At first I didn't think it was real. I woke up to this blinding light and I was transported to another place. Pluto tv.
- [80:51]
B
Then I heard a voice. Come with me if you want to live.
- [80:54]
A
There were thousands of movies and shows
- [80:57]
B
and they were all free.
- [80:58]
A
Truth is, it's just so Beautiful on Pluto TV.
- [81:02]
B
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- [81:38]
A
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