The Highwire with Del Bigtree - I KNOW SO MANY ACTIVE PILOTS WITH MYOCARDITIS

Episode Date: May 26, 2022

I KNOW SO MANY ACTIVE PILOTS WITH MYOCARDITISBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-highwire-with-del-bigtree--3620606/support.

At the beginning of all this, when there was discussions about a mandatory vaccination, there was one pilot that was one of the first to speak out about it. Of course, I'm talking about Joshua Yoder. He was in the news and he made a lot of waves for saying, I don't believe pilots should be forced to get a vaccine. This is what that look like. Joshua Yoder, he's a commercial airline pilot. He's co-founder of the group of U.S. Freedom Flyers.

He joins us tonight. Mr. Yoder, thanks so much for coming on. Pilots who have raised questions about these mandates have been, as noted, dismissed as criminals, terrorists. Tell us your motive in resisting this mandate. My motive for resisting it is primarily religious for myself. Basically, I saw among my friends, I saw a need. Many of us don't want to take this.

People were being coerced. I believe in freedom. And I'm here to support the freedom of my fellow employees and all people across this country. I'm not going to take a mandate. I'm not going to be coerced to doing something that I don't believe in. Well, it's my absolute pleasure and honored to introduce you to Josh Yoder who joins me now.

Josh, you've been a hero. You stood up when many others would not. But in many ways, the mandates happened. You know, pilots complied. And we just spoke to the pilot Bob Snow, who shared this incredibly detailed, you know, story, this horrific story of just moments after landing a plane. collapsing, bringing in defibrillators. He had to be brought back to life. And now he's wearing, you know, it's a form of a heart monitor that will shock him anytime of the future should this happen again. My question to you, because you've sort of been on the front line to this,

you know, one of the founders of the Freedom Flyers, is this story, is Bob's story an anomaly because he said something that I found really shocking. He said there are other pilots reaching out to him saying, I'm having health issues. I'm afraid to report it because I would lose my job. So my sense with him is he's not the only case. Are you hearing similar stories? Yeah, first of all, thanks for having me on, Dell. And I can tell you that no, Bob Snow is not an anomaly. This is something that I hear about every single day. I talk to pilots every single day. We're getting them health care. They're coming forward. They're actually afraid to come forward to the companies or to the unions because they're not receiving support there. And so essentially what

the companies have done is they said, you know, we're going to, we're going to beat you until you bleed and then we're going to and then we're going to beat you for bleeding. You know, that's what we're seeing here. And these pilots, you know, when they come forward and they actually have a medical issue, their long-term disability is only a very small fraction of what they make, you know, when they're actually flying aircraft. And so pilots are essentially de-incentivized for coming forward with these issues that they're having. I can tell you, I know of so many cardiac events, people with myocarditis, paracarditis, they're being treated off the books who actually aren't telling the FDA and the companies and they're flying and they're hoping that it goes away.

And this is, this is a major safety issue. This is something that the, The FAA and the companies and the unions need to address that on, and they're not doing it. I can tell you, I've had personal meetings with the unions and with the airlines, and there is no appetite to go after this because they're admitting civil and criminal liability to do so. So, when, I mean, that's incredible. You make a really good point by, you know, not paying these pilots, like just saying, look, sorry, you're a casualty of a decision we made for whatever reason. Let's take care of you.

Your family. Bob said the exact thing. He's getting no phone calls back. He's getting disability pay, which is far below what he makes. He still has kids at home. They're going to have to go through college. So when you think about these pilots, he's not the only one out there. We as the passengers would hope that they would be incentivizing these pilots to step forward.

And these guys are going above altitude, right? Pressurized cabins, all of these things where the heart is so important. And you're saying that, and it makes perfect sense, they're not coming forward because they're going, to be docked pay. They're going to have to try and figure out how to survive. Most of them having spent decades of their lives in this profession, where do you go? In Bob's case, where does he go? I mean, he's right on the verge of retirement age, what other well, you know, paying job is out there. And so really great point. Now, these pilots then that are talking to you that are on the books for having periocarditis, myocarditis, blood clotting, things like that, that's not really legal

for them to be flying though like they're in their they're they're they're taking a risk are they not yeah they they totally are it's not legal but you know like we talked about they're being de-incentivized and the fAA is not going to come forward and say hey we made a mistake and we're going to make sure that we fix this the companies aren't going to do it because they all have civil and criminal liability as to the unions so essentially we're we're in a standoff of sorts here that's happening and what i'm trying to do at us free and flyers is to find a solution and these pilots need to know that they can come forward and they can get medical care and still be kept on board at full pay. And that's why US freedom flyers is bringing massive litigation.

We're suing the Department of Transportation, the FAA, all the major U.S. airlines, and these are going to be multi-billion dollar lawsuits going after damages. You know, it's not just for the unvaccinated, as for the vaccinated and the vaccine injured. It's for all of us. And we're going to hold these people accountable because if we don't hold them accountable now, they're going to do this again. You know, we know that airlines have been, have been exceptionally totalitarian over the last 40 years. And this is something we're going to change this once and for all. all this is something we're going to put a stop to it. And we're going to make this process so painful for them that they're going to think twice

before they do it again. You know, we partnered with the John Pierce Law Firm. And I can tell you that firm is growing by leaps and bounds. And he's the only elite attorney in this country who is willing to take on these cases because they are very controversial. Wow. I mean, and so when you started this, when you sort of started speaking out, did you imagine it would get to this point where we, you know, we would be sitting here discussing pilots

that are flying around with, you know, blood clots, myocarditis, pericarditis, really risky not only their own lives, but the lives of the passengers. I mean, I know that's not what they want to be doing. I know these are good people, you know, pushed into a really bad situation. But did you think it was going to get this bad when you first decided to speak out? No, Del. I knew it was going to be a problem, but I could have never conceptualized the size that U.S. freedom virus has grown into. You know, now we have international partners as well in Canada and Europe and in Australia. I'll see freedom. and many other groups across the nation and across the world.

And we're all banding together. Screen Actors Guild, actually, members are joining us here as well. And we're all experiencing the same issues. You know, it's ultimately totalitarianism. That's what we're fighting here. And I never had a concept of just how bad it was going to get with the pilots. I can tell you that I have conversations every single day. And the things that I'm hearing are shocking.

And honestly, it's heartbreaking, you know, to hear these stories. I had a flight attendant that called me here not so long ago. she's just had her fourth stroke and she called me and said, Josh, I don't think I'm going to live much longer. And that started, you know, immediately after her second Pfizer shot. So we have a major issue on our hands here. And it's literally going to take every single one of us banning together to find a solution. You know, I would prefer, I would prefer if we didn't have to go to litigation. I wish these companies would step up to the plate and actually do the right thing.

That's what we're trying to get them to do. But in the absence, in the absence of voluntarily doing the right thing, we're going to force them to do the right thing. because ultimately here it's the human toll that we're concerned about, whether that be the employee themselves or the passengers they fly. Well, look, I'm sure there's lots of people watching right now that, I mean, I know our entire audience supports your cause. We here at the High Wire and our nonprofit, the informed consent action network, has been very litigious.

We, too. I mean, I never thought I would be bragging about lawsuits we're bringing and winning against government agencies and private institutions. But this is the time we live in. And as you said, people are not doing the work. right thing. Our governments are not doing the right thing. Industries are not doing the right thing. Certainly our regulatory agencies are not doing the right thing. So we're left with no other options but to get out of sort of the government system and go into that judicial branch and try to

make a difference. And I'm just so glad you're out there and so ferociously fighting both, as you said, for those pilots, for those flight attendants, but also the passengers that are riding in it. Where do we go? For those that want to support or get involved in the work you're doing or see more about it, what's the best place for us to find and track what you're doing? Sure. If you'd like to support us, please go to usfreyfliars.org and click on donate there if you don't mind. I can tell you everybody at US Freedom Flyers, one thing that makes our organization so unique is we're all volunteers. I have never taken a salary from this organization, nor do I intend to. This is all about taking dollars and putting them to the best use, which is holding

these large corporations accountable. What people need to understand is that airlines transcend national borders. And so when we make changes at the FAA, many many civil aviation authorities around the world actually based their policies and procedures off of what the FAA does. So when we can force change at the FAA and we can force change at U.S. airlines, that has the ability to transcend borders and actually bring worldwide change. That's why these cases are so landmark, so important. And I'm asking everyone to please support us. If it's $5 or $10, you know, give up a Starbucks coffee for one day, you're going to make a fundamental difference, not just for the employees involved, but for yourself as a passenger.

the passenger. Well, I mean, look, it's such an important point. I'm glad you pointed out, you know, volunteers. It just shows how dedicated you are to this. And believe me, I know these cases are not cheap. You're going up against multi-billion dollar industries that are also being backed by government funding that forced this vaccine onto these pilots. So it's a, it's a tall order. But I know that truth prevails. And I know that, you know, at the end of this road, you know, we've had a lot of success in the lawsuits we've had. I know that this is the way forward. So you're doing the right thing. I guess my final question to you is, as we sit here in just a few moments, as soon as I finish the show, I'm going to be heading to hop on an airplane to go to England for a conference

that's happening there. And I think the question on all of our minds, is it safe to fly right now? You know, what the FAA and the airlines and unions are counting on is something we know is pilot redundancy. You know, so in the case of Bob Snow, you know, that was a near miss. You know, that had happened at Cruz, you know, we obviously have policies and procedures in place to deal with the incapacation of a pilot, you know, it's not the first time that it's happened. Where we really run into an issue, and as Greg Pearson, who's a major airline captain, says, he says, you know, if I was at 100 feet and that's when that's when I had my cardiac event, you know, there's a strong possibility I could have pushed forward on the sidestick, you know, flying an airbus, you know, with 40 airplanes lined up on the taxiway next to me. He said the outcome could have been very different for a lot of people. So, so, you know, pilot redundancy, that that's the word of the day. That's what they're hoping for. That co-pilot jumping in and saving the day should lose.

But there are these fractions, these moments where at the wrong time, that may not be good enough. Take off and landing, and we're looking at the law of averages here. You know, when you look at, you look at the thousands of flights that go per day. And then you look at the number of side effects that we're seeing at some point, you know, the genie comes out of the bottle. Wow. Well, look, Josh, I want to thank you for taking the time to join us. I want to thank you for all the time and energy you're putting in this. I know how much work that is.

you're busy. We see you everywhere. Everyone, these are the types of things here at the highway where you're not just a news organization that's going to sit here and tell you to sit on your couches around the world and say, oh, that's too bad. We have one of the most active audiences that is out there. It's one of the things I'm most proud of. Not only is our audience intelligent and able to really drill down on science and things like that, they also step up to make a difference. This is how we make a difference, folks. This is how we vote with our dollars. This is how we make America, that beacon of light that leads the world, as he said, with the FAA. Please go to www.usfreedomflyers.org.

Again, give up that Starbucks coffee this week and do it every once a month, and you can really make a difference. There's so many of us out there, you know, in some ways we're all competing for you, for that limited audience that is intelligent enough, bright enough, and recognizes how important this is. is, but this is who you are. This is how you're making a difference in the world. And those of you that are donating to the informed consent and action network and to Freedom Flyers, I hope that every time we win a lawsuit,

when we announce those lawsuits and when we bring Josh Yoder back on to talk about the lawsuits, he's won, and how we're changing the world. You get to be a part of that. This is how we come together. This is what this community is about. So Josh, thank you for leading our community of pilots and flight attendants and passengers on this journey.

I want to thank you for your work and thanks for joining us today. Thank you so much, though. I appreciate it. All right, take care.