The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 11.29 Lying Coward Kanye West Just Humiliated Himself So Bad... & Today's News

Starting point is 00:00:00 Kanye just exposed himself for being as soft as he is bigoted, police in San Francisco just want to be allowed to kill people with robots, and Iran allegedly threatened the families of their soccer players ahead of today's match. We're gonna be talking about all that and more on today's show, so buckle up, hit that like button, and let's just jump into it. Starting with Kanye West not feeling his Kanye best right now. And don't get confused by that sentence, you shouldn't feel bad for Ye right now. Everything that's happening to him right now is a bigoted self-owned. This man, I don't think has ever seen a bridge that he didn't want to burn and then also blame on the Jews somehow. But hey, let's slosh our way through this sloppy mess of a story together. So this most recent situation stemmed from Kanye and white

Starting point is 00:00:37 supremacist Nick Fuentes making headlines for dining with Donald Trump, which was so bad that in addition to some Republicans, you even had Mike Pence condemning the move, which is really saying something because Mike Pence didn't even say, hey, that wasn't cool about you trying to get people to lynch me for months. The general reaction from most, including those on the right, was why the fuck would you meet with people that are openly being anti-Semitic? With Trump responding, saying he didn't know Fuentes was coming, but also not using such harsh language to accidentally offend part of his base. With the situation not stopping Kanye and Nick, and if anything, fueling them to make the rounds elsewhere, with him yesterday being joined by Milo Yiannopoulos on Tim Pool's podcast. And on the podcast, he's

Starting point is 00:01:12 essentially being who he's been since he went DEFCON 3. I'm not going to give unnecessary airtime to the other bullshit that he said in this, but this ultimately gets to a point where Ye said they were trying to put him in jail, seemingly referring to Jewish people as they, and referencing the anti-Semitic conspiracy that Jews control the media, to which Tim says, I think they've been extremely unfair to you. Who was they, though? We can't say they is. I'm not using that. I don't use the word as the way I guess you guys use. I'm talking about them, though, isn't it? I mean, because no, because when you think about it, consider it in 2018. What do you mean? it's not? What do I mean? Like, OK, so how about you leaving?

Starting point is 00:01:49 So he bounces and Tim goes on to say, yeah, he's going to come in here and say, here's my pain. Here's my suffering. I'm gonna say, I hear you. And then he's going to say, and it was Jewish people. And I'm going to be like, OK, but don't you consider it? I'm not going to do this. I refuse. What do I even do?

Starting point is 00:02:02 Other than ask him, please elaborate on this. Are you referring to individuals? Are you quite literally blaming an entire group of people for the fact that powerful individuals are causing you harm? And all of this is happening as Nick and Milo follow Ye offset. Tim then going on to further discuss Kanye's unwillingness to have a conversation about all this. I don't like identitarianism.

Starting point is 00:02:19 I've never been a fan of people who've blamed everyone else for their problems. In Ye's circumstance, they're coming after him. They're trying to take away his stuff. They're threatening them with institutionalization. And I understand all of that. It's unfortunate that he's internalized this problem to, it is a specific ethnic and religious background that's doing it. And with this, there were two massively different sets of reactions. I was watching it live and you can also see it in the replay. The chat got with L. Tim Pool saying Tim Pool failed he dropped the bag he scared off Ye push too hard but then on the other side people just absolutely shocked that it took so damn little for Ye to leave with people like Hasan Piker saying Nick Fuentes and Ye couldn't hold back their anti-semitism for a second and forced him to push back lightly causing Kanye to leave abruptly and with that a ton of people saying how the fuck do Kanye 2024 people think he's going to handle a debate stage when he ran from a Tim Pool podcast because Tim wasn't being anti-Semitic enough? And this was the most favorable environment you could have possibly asked for. You even had Tim later going on to talk about how wild it is that he

Starting point is 00:03:16 couldn't even have a small conversation about this with him. Also going on to say, you know, was this pre-planned? Is this part of Milo Yiannopoulos' revenge? But here's all I'll say, if you are someone that thinks that Tim Pool was going in hard on Kanye West, what is fucking wrong with your brain? Kanye West got KO'd by someone using kid gloves. And it genuinely has me questioning how much lead is in the water supply because there are a decent chunk of people that saw that interview and they're like, Tim Pool is a secret leftist operative.

Starting point is 00:03:42 It's truly mind-blowing. And then Black Friday was a bust until it wasn't. Right, and yesterday's show, which, by the way, there was a show yesterday. YouTube ended up suppressing it, I think, because we covered that Balenciaga story. So some of you didn't see it. But we talked about how just retail was struggling. You didn't have huge crowds. It was like a slightly busy shopping day.

Starting point is 00:03:59 But we're now getting the news that Black Friday sales broke records online, which, as of today, is exactly what we saw over at beautifulbastard.com, where, by the way, you have about 36 hours or less if you want to get in on this drop. We're talking emotionally exhausted flower power goodness, sports gear. You know, for all the sports. One day we'll all be skeletons. This Santa design that my team threw in because they're trying to get me canceled. And in addition to all that comfy goodness, premium notebooks,

Starting point is 00:04:23 water bottles, and the best fucking candle you will ever buy. Remember, all the profits from this drop are going to the Philip DeFranco-likes overpriced stake fund. Only available for the next 36 hours at beautifulbastard.com. But these great numbers we saw across the board. With inflation stress, US shoppers still having the urge and dropping $9 billion online on Black Friday. And yesterday's Cyber Monday sales expected to bring in a record $11 billion. And also what was very notable is how people were buying. Yes, they were doing it online, but a record number of people use their phones, right? We're talking nearly half of people,

Starting point is 00:04:57 and buy now, pay later payments rose 78% from the previous week. But also, here's a key thing. For a lot of these companies, more sales do not necessarily mean more profits. A lot of what we were seeing were steep discounts on things they were just trying to get out the door. When you have steeper discounts, that means slimmer margins. So in fact, despite this last week's strong sales, analysts actually still expect holiday sales to fall this season when adjusted for inflation, which is absolutely a big deal because that would be the first holiday drop since 2009. And then, have you forgiven Will Smith? That is the question at the center of this story. Back in March, which by the way, why does it feel like seven years ago, Will Smith smacked Chris Rock at the Oscars?

Starting point is 00:05:26 It was a massive story. Everyone chiming in. Will Smith kind of retreating from the spotlight. With Will eventually coming back with an apology video. And now he is tasked with promoting his first big film since the incident. It's called Emancipation. It's an Apple TV Plus film. It's going to have a limited theatrical release.

Starting point is 00:05:40 So with him now doing promo for the film, it's also kind of turned into a continued apology circuit. That was a horrific night, as you can imagine. I was going through something that night, you know? And not that that justifies my behavior at all. I guess the thing that was most painful for me is I took my heart and made it hard for other people. You know? And it's like, I understood the idea where they say hurt people hurt people. With him going on to talk about when he was a little boy, he watched his father beat up his mother.

Starting point is 00:06:10 Which, like I said, when this incident happened all the way back then, I had read his book. Like, his whole life was feeling like he failed the women he cared about. And at one point in this, he had Trevor Noah saying he believes Will Smith just made an honest mistake. The audience clapping, seemingly agreeing. And following this, depending on where you go on social media, drastically different reactions. Some in the camp of, no, fuck him. He doesn't actually care. This is just about his career. Others saying, no, it seems like a genuine apology. He's trying to grow from it. Also people saying, you know, he has nothing to apologize for. And personally, I'm of the mindset

Starting point is 00:06:34 of that whole slap situation. Unless you're Chris Rock, you're Will Smith, or you're the Oscars, I don't know why you're still like caring about it at all. Is what Will Smith did then wrong? Yes. Been saying that since the beginning. But should he be forced to grovel to the extent that it feels like people want him to? No. Which is why I agree with certain comments that say tons of people in Hollywood have done far worse and get welcomed back in good graces without an apology. Meanwhile, Will Smith is being treated as the poster child for shame, repeatedly begging for forgiveness. Actually, regarding Chris Rock, I recently went to a show of his and in no way does it seem like he's like,

Starting point is 00:07:05 "'That guy shouldn't have a career now.'" I mean, he popped off some funny jokes about Will Smith, which I think he gets to do since Will Smith popped him. And if anything, I think the situation is just like further confirmation that for a lot of people, it's not really about someone apologizing or trying to become a better person.

Starting point is 00:07:18 It's about people feeling like they have the power to make someone that's that big, that that's that successful a fucking week. That it's more about getting a pound of flesh from someone that seemed untouchable. But hey, that's that successful fucking week. That it's more about getting a pound of flesh from someone that seemed untouchable. But hey, that's a story. One fuck faces opinion, and I'll pass the question off to you.

Starting point is 00:07:29 What's yours? And then the stock market looks wild right now. The S&P 500 is down 17%. Even Apple is down 20%. And that's actually one reason why private investing, which is normally not something regular folks have access to, is so interesting. In fact, USVC Fundraising has already set

Starting point is 00:07:44 a new annual high of $150 billion this year. Wealthy investors back early-stage companies to discover Tesla and Apple before they become billion-dollar companies, and historically only accredited investors with a few exceptions have had access to these investments. Which means you have to make $200K plus a year for at least two years or have a net worth of $1 million. Limited access is one way the wealthy stay wealthy. But thanks to today's sponsor, Republic, that changes. Republic makes it possible for everyone to invest in startups. Their team of investment professionals

Starting point is 00:08:10 curate private investment opportunities with high growth potential so we can invest alongside notable VCs. From pitch decks, SEC documents, to social media and press and company updates, you can see everything about the company in one place. You can also invest in art, music, video games, and projects of all kinds on Republic, which I love.

Starting point is 00:08:24 So to invest alongside the 1% and in the future that you believe in, head to republic.com slash phil or click the link below and use my referral code to get up to $100 when you invest. And then killer robots! But actually, yeah, killer robots. The San Francisco Police Department is looking to use their robots to kill people with their latest policy proposal. The policy is reportedly set to be reviewed by the Board of Supervisors later today. And specifically, the SFPD is looking for approval to use robots, quote, as a deadly force option when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and outweighs any other force option available to SFPD.

Starting point is 00:08:54 With as of now, the department reportedly having 12 robots that are used for situational awareness, investigation, surveillance of areas officers can't get to, defusing bombs, and in hostage negotiations. But they aren't planning on activating murder mode tomorrow, with a representative of the SFPD saying in a statement to Motherboard, the department does not have any sort of specific plan in place as the unusually dangerous or spontaneous operations where SFPDs need to deliver deadly force via robot would be a rare and exceptional circumstance. And a public information officer saying they don't plan on giving robots firearms at any point, but they can be equipped with explosive devices to breach certain structures, saying the SFPD must be prepared

Starting point is 00:09:26 and have the ability to respond proportionally. Also, I think a key thing is this is not a wholly new concept. In 2016, for example, the Dallas Police Department used a robot outfitted with explosives to kill a gunman that had shot and killed five police officers, which is why you have people saying,

Starting point is 00:09:38 yeah, I think this makes sense, but at the same time, this has caused concern with activists and experts alike. With Paul Shari, who actually helped create the US policy around autonomous weapons in war, saying, Once you've authorized this kind of use, it can be very hard to walk back. And a member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit organization with the cause of

Starting point is 00:09:53 defending digital privacy and free speech, saying, We have a very clear position that we do not think in a domestic policing context robots should ever be armed. We really fear you'd be seeing these armed robots coming out to every protest on standby, and that's just a very dangerous situation. And all of this coming as several robotics organizations signed an open letter saying general use robots should not be weaponized back in October. And then, I've got a heartwarming story for you today, but it is the Philip DeFranco show, so it is bittersweet, and it does start with a kidnapping. The year is 1971, and Melissa Highsmith is just under two years old. Her mother, recently separated and working full-time, had left her with a roommate and then passed her off to a babysitter who never returned. That was the last

Starting point is 00:10:28 time Melissa's mother ever saw her. But Melissa's family never forgot about her and never stopped searching for her. They held birthday parties for her. They interviewed with newspapers and podcasts. They rushed to other states chasing leads. But for 50 years, nothing came of it. Until at the beginning of this month when Jeffrey Highsmith, Melissa's father, saw his results at an at-home DNA test. With him finding a match for a granddaughter he didn't know he had. And then one of Melissa's sisters, Rebecca, checked her Ancestry.com account and found a connection to two boys with the same last name as the mystery granddaughter that Jeffrey found. So Rebecca and another sister, Sharon, referred the results to an amateur genealogist.

Starting point is 00:10:58 Who then used the DNA charts to confirm that all three children belonged to their sibling. And it turned out it was the one they had long been searching for. Meaning that Melissa was alive alive when does fast grocery delivery through instacart matter most when your famous grainy mustard potato salad isn't so famous without the grainy mustard when the barbecue's lit but there's nothing to grill when the in-laws decide that actually they will stay for dinner instacart has all your groceries covered this summer so download the app and get delivery in as fast as 60 minutes. Plus, enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders.

Starting point is 00:11:31 Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart. Groceries that over-deliver. Just couldn't believe it. I thought I would never see her again. And they said, Dad, she's alive. And I started crying. And after 51 years, it's so emotional.

Starting point is 00:11:50 Genealogists connected with the children's adoptive father who gave them enough information to find Melissa's Facebook page. With Melissa, who until this point had been known as Melanie was skeptical when she first received the message. Which I mean, it makes sense. How would you react if someone kind of messaged you out of the blue and they're like,

Starting point is 00:12:04 hey, we're your real family, you wanna come hang out? But after they mentioned a birthmark on her back, she agreed to a DNA test. With all of that culminating to this last Saturday where for the first time in 51 years, Melissa met her parents again at a lab in Fort Worth, Texas, discovering that she had this huge family that had never stopped looking for her,

Starting point is 00:12:20 including four siblings and countless nieces and nephews. It is overwhelming, but at the same time, it's just the most wonderful feeling in the world. But of course, with this being a story about kidnapping, it is important to know that Melissa's childhood had not been easy without her family. She reportedly had a tense relationship with a woman who raised her and left home at 15 years old, and that woman reportedly confirming she knew Melissa was a kidnapping victim. The person that raised me, I asked her, is there anything that you need to tell me? And it was confirmed that she knew that I was baby Melissa. So that just made it real.

Starting point is 00:12:54 But still with this, the mystery of the person who initially took Melissa is still under investigation by the Fort Worth Police Department, who said despite the statute of limitations being long expired, they'll continue to pursue the case and look for answers to 50 year old questions. But in the meantime, Melissa has been welcomed home with open arms and reportedly actually even wants to redo her wedding so her father can give her away. And then this could be catastrophic for the U.S. economy. And specifically, I'm talking about the

Starting point is 00:13:15 ongoing labor dispute between railroad unions and freight carriers. We've talked about this on the show before, back when President Biden helped broker a tentative agreement to prevent a strike at the last minute back in September. That deal including a number of really just basic things like better pay and working conditions as well as more flexible schedules for things like medical appointments, which was a major sticking point for the unionized workers who were understandably upset about a policy that penalizes them for taking time off to go to the doctor or attend to family emergencies. But, like I said then, tentative was the key word there. Because the agreement was just to avert a strike immediately while a broader solution was being hashed out.

Starting point is 00:13:45 And since then, four of the 12 railroad unions have rejected the deal Biden brokered, arguing that it failed to address their demands surrounding paid sick days and did not substantially change the attendance policy. And that's very significant because all 12 unions, which together represent 115,000 workers, need to vote individually to ratify their contracts before the December 9th strike deadline. And if just one decides to strike, it's expected that the others will do the same. Which brings us back to how we open this. That would be absolutely devastating for an already faltering economy. Like, I really don't want to undersell how massive this would be

Starting point is 00:14:13 and how much it would impact day-to-day life for everyone. First of all, it would cause massive disruptions to travel in the supply chain at the peak of the holiday season, further risking increased inflation at a time when Americans are already struggling. In fact, in a letter to Congress just yesterday, a number of powerful business groups led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimated that a strike would cost $2 billion per day. Additionally, White House economic advisors have said that upwards of 765,000 Americans, including union workers, could be put out of work just in the first two weeks of the strike. But beyond that,

Starting point is 00:14:38 there's also major public health and safety concerns. Railroads would stop transporting hazardous chemicals, fertilizers, and perishable products, leaving them stranded on the tracks. There would also be disruptions to food supply chains down the line because farmers and ranchers nationwide may not be able to get feed for their livestock. And then you have to consider the nation's supply of clean drinking water. That could be impacted if there are no freight carriers to transport the chemicals needed to provide clean drinking water. And so as a result, you had Biden yesterday calling on Congress to pass legislation immediately to adopt the agreement that he had struck in September. With outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying in a statement shortly after that, that the House will take up a

Starting point is 00:15:06 bill this week adopting the tentative agreement. But right now it's unclear what would actually go down in the Senate. You'd need all 50 Democrats and at least 10 other Republicans to bypass the filibuster. And that's possibly a heavy lift. This is still a developing story. We could see this upset progressive Democrats, right? Congress people who pride themselves on being union backers, who rely on the support of powerful unions, right? It seems unlikely that many of the railroad workers and union leaders are going to be happy that Congress just forces and imposes a deal that a third of them rejected. And as one carpenter with a rail maintenance workers union said to the New York Times yesterday, this move seems to cater to the oligarch. All of rail labor is going to suffer because of this.

Starting point is 00:15:38 Right, so this is a move that could undermine Biden's credibility with some of his Democratic allies and union workers, especially because he's always billed himself as a big union guy. In fact, even previously arguing against congressional intervention and bargaining, and a few weeks ago, his administration said it was up to the rail unions to hash this all out, which is why I had Biden and Pelosi trying to reaffirm their support for unions and statements yesterday,

Starting point is 00:15:54 emphasizing that their hands are being forced here because all that's at stake, with Biden saying, I am reluctant to override the ratification procedures and the views of those who voted against the agreement, saying that Congress should act in this case where the economic impact of a Shutdown would hurt millions of other working people and families with the remaining to be seen right now

Starting point is 00:16:08 What is going to happen? The reactions are still coming in you have senators like Marco Rubio sounding off reading the railways and workers should go back and negotiate a Deal that the workers not just the union bosses will accept but if Congress is forced to do it I will not vote to impose a deal that doesn't have the support of the rail workers But we also saw a Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell telling reporters today that the Senate is going to need to pass a bill to avoid a strike, implying that the party line won't be to block this move. And that was also echoed by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who said he thinks the measure will pass. But the situation is still developing. We're going to see what happens. But in the

Starting point is 00:16:37 meantime, of course, I'd love to know your thoughts, especially just like we did the last time we talked about this. If you or someone you know is in this industry, what are you seeing? What are you feeling? I'd love to hear from you. But that is where that story in today's show ends. As always, thank you for watching and being a part of these daily dives in the news. Also, friendly reminder,

Starting point is 00:16:52 you have 36 hours or less to get in on that beautiful bastard.com drop. But my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow.

Your Ad Here

The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 11.29 Lying Coward Kanye West Just Humiliated Himself So Bad... & Today's News

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.