The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 3.22 This Disgusting Ace Family Exploitation Makes Me Sick, Scam Accusations, Fezco Abandoned, & More

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup you beautiful bastards. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. Buckle up, hit that like button and let's just jump into it. Hey all, first up today, let's talk about our douchebag of the day. And it's a story that involves Fezco. Now understand, Fezco is not our douchebag,

Starting point is 00:00:13 but he is at the center of a story that has the most ridiculous headline I've read in a little bit that reads, "'Dog is dumped in North Carolina shelter because owners said it might be gay.'" And no matter how stupid you think this story is, it gets worse. So Fezco is described as a four to five year old mix,

Starting point is 00:00:29 very cute by the way, and he was apparently returned for no other reason than quote, Fezco apparently humped another male dog and the dog's owner assumed the canine was a quote, gay nine and didn't want him around, so they left him at the shelter. The level of douchebaggery is incalculable. Also side note, not that it would even matter,

Starting point is 00:00:45 dog humping isn't even always a sex thing. In fact, according to the ASPCA, it's a form of play behavior. It can also be a response to stress. Quick side note, guys, you can't use this as an excuse. We're talking about dogs, not you. But also if this was a stress reaction, probably makes sense,

Starting point is 00:00:58 because his owner was apparently the biggest fucking douchebag on the planet. I'd be stressed out too. But hey, if it hasn't already happened, this story can have a happy ending. Reportedly, the specific place that Fezco got dropped off was the Stanley County Animal Protective Services in Albemarle, about 40 miles east of Charlotte.

Starting point is 00:01:12 And if that happens to be near you, maybe you want a new dog. Man, I just, I can't get past that, like that level of ignorance and or hate. It's just, whew. It's horrible to say, but whoever this guy is, I wouldn't shed a tear if he met the wrong end of a baseball bat.

Starting point is 00:01:27 Then in this matters and no way news, but enough people want me to talk about it, so here we go. Let's talk about the Ace family. And if you're unaware of who they are, they're this YouTube vlog family, the dad in the group, Austin McBroom. His name has kind of become, for a lot of people,

Starting point is 00:01:39 synonymous with scamming people for money. Other people have deep dive videos on all the different things. I'm not gonna touch on that. I would just say I would never partner with him in hopes that he would actually pay me or I would never invest in something he would do. But like, that's whatever. But the scamming accusations are back because they put out a video called the end of Ace family on YouTube. Though like 99% of YouTube videos, clickbait there, they're pulling back. They're

Starting point is 00:02:00 not leaving the site. But after they got people to click the video, they announced the Ace family festival, which they describe as a mixture between Disneyland and Coachella. Basically, it looks like this massive carnival with rides and games and an opportunity to meet the Ace Family. But they're selling two types of tickets. The first is $300, but it gets three people in.

Starting point is 00:02:15 The second is 500, but it gets five people in and it guarantees a meet and greet opportunity. Plus, this is the weirdest part to me. It's like monetization of parasocial relationships to just an extreme. Of the second pass holder group, some of those people will be selected to be able to attend their wedding.

Starting point is 00:02:32 I guess because selling $500 packages to be able to take pictures with their kids wasn't weird enough. Oh, fuck me. That's so creepy and trashy. I'm sorry, I'm gonna cast the first stone. Ah, it's just like, is there anything that people won't put a price tag on?

Starting point is 00:02:45 But seemingly for most of the internet, it's not that aspect that's standing out to them. It's that people think that, you know, this is gonna be a scam. Or people pointing out they have no track record of success for this. There's also all this stuff with the other things they've launched in the past.

Starting point is 00:02:56 You have some saying, hey, this is gonna be the next Fyre Festival. But for me, it's just like the next level exploitation of your family unit. It's so fucking strange to me. And hey, maybe it would feel different if it was just Austin and Catherine, but like your kids are there.

Starting point is 00:03:08 I know for like every good family vlogger, there's a family that exploits their children for the videos, but like this is to an extreme. Am I wrong here? Like what the fuck is wrong in your brain? I don't know, maybe this is like my old man moment. Maybe this is like, this is part of the new normal. I don't know.

Starting point is 00:03:23 Like I always try to check myself because times change and what you think isn't what everyone else thinks. But hey, with this story, I'll pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts regarding this? Whether it be about the total event, what they're doing with their kids or what essentially equates to a $500 raffle to go to their wedding.

Starting point is 00:03:38 And then what do you get when you put thousands of drunken horny teens all in one place? Babies. Yes, but for today's show, five people with gunshot wounds and a very, very upset mayor. Y'all, the spring break partying scene in Miami Beach has gotten so insane,

Starting point is 00:03:51 the city is declaring a state of emergency. You've got South Beach imposing a midnight curfew starting Thursday, lasting until 6 a.m., and remaining in effect through Saturday. With the mayor and city managers saying they would ask city commissioners to extend the curfew for next weekend. And police going as far to say

Starting point is 00:04:04 they would like to restrict access to South Beach from non-residents and those without business commissioners to extend the curfew for next weekend. And police going as far to say they would like to restrict access to South Beach from non-residents and those without business in the area after the curfew. And like I said, this isn't coming out of nowhere. This is coming after two consecutive shootings over the past few nights, wounding a combined five people. Leading the mayor to deploy nearly 400 cops over the weekend with him exhaustively saying,

Starting point is 00:04:19 "'As for the spring break crowds that have jammed "'the streets of South Beach the past three weeks, "'we don't ask for it, promote it, or encourage it. "'We just endure it." And adding, we can't endure this anymore. We just simply can't. Well, understandably, the shootings are being investigated. They're getting the most attention.

Starting point is 00:04:31 It wasn't the only violence to break out this spring break. Reportedly, since mid-February, nine officers have been injured in various episodes, according to the chief, and 37 firearms have been confiscated over the last few days with many comparing this to last year's spring break mayhem, which saw rowdy people getting into street fights, destroying restaurant property, and causing stampedes,

Starting point is 00:04:47 or getting so out of hand that SWAT teams came in with pepper bullets and law enforcement from at least four other agencies arrived. But ultimately, that is where that story ends, and the kind of weird thing about this is, while for me, this story reads like an ad for home, don't you wanna stay there? What I've noticed from the years

Starting point is 00:05:01 of covering stories like this is, this is probably just gonna make that spot even more popular. I don't get it, cause I'm a boring safe person, but yeah. But from that, I wanna take a second to thank the fantastic sponsor of today's show, Bokksu. Our friends over at Bokksu offer a fantastic way to taste, experience, and learn about Japan's vibrant culture by delivering premium Japanese snacks, candies,

Starting point is 00:05:20 and tea pairings straight from Japan to your door every month. This month's theme is sakura season, and as you can see, it's packed with all sorts of limited edition cherry blossom themed snacks. Every year, Japanese cherry blossoms bloom all across Japan, and people celebrate by gathering under the trees and enjoying picnics together. And with everything going on in the world, people haven't been able to travel to Japan as easily as they'd like, so this box is a way to experience Sakura season from home. And personally, I've found when I travel, like, one of my favorite ways to experience a culture is to eat it.

Starting point is 00:05:43 With that including my wife and I's time in Japan And so I think that's why it's cool that each box who teaches you a few Japanese phrases and comes with a culture guide that Takes you through the theme the origins of the snacks and details of the flavors So if you want to try some awesome Japanese snacks and support the show click the link in the description now and use code to Franco to get $15 off your first box to order and then let's talk about the news the Democrats may actually be doing something that Makes sense regarding an election. So you know how the Iowa caucus kicks off presidential election season?

Starting point is 00:06:08 Well, that may no longer be the case. I mean, this is a very real possibility according to a new draft of the 2024 presidential nominating calendar. Under the proposed schedule, up to five states would be selected to hold their primary contest before March, based on a new set of rules.

Starting point is 00:06:20 The plan listing three specific criteria for the selection of those early nominating states. One, the diversity of the electorate, including ethnic, geographic, union representation, economic, et cetera. Two, how competitive the state is in a general election. And three, the state's ability to hold a fair, transparent and inclusive process.

Starting point is 00:06:34 So essentially under those guidelines, not Iowa. Right, diversity wise, Iowa is 90% white. It's no longer viewed as a swing state. And under law, the state actually holds a caucus, not a primary. And while for some, this can kind of be a whatever thing This is kind of massive because for decades Iowa along with New Hampshire Nevada and South Carolina have just dominated the early presidential Nominating races and as a result these states have garnered

Starting point is 00:06:55 disproportionate attention and spending from candidates and especially for Democrats It may set a tone for who's leading the races that may not represent the places where it is most competitive Well Republicans have generally remained happy with the status quo, Democrats have been pushing to change this, an effort that was also increased after the absolute shit show of the Iowa caucus in 2020. But here's the thing, even though it makes sense, there could be legal issues with this plan.

Starting point is 00:07:16 For example, New Hampshire literally requires the Secretary of State by law to schedule the state's presidential primary before any other. And that could complicate Nevada's efforts to take over the slot for the first primary, which it's been pushing hard for. Meanwhile, you have South Carolina probably keeping presidential primary before any other. And that could complicate Nevada's efforts to take over the slot for the first primary, which it's been pushing hard for. Meanwhile, you have South Carolina

Starting point is 00:07:27 probably keeping its place in the early elections due to its diversity in primary process. But as far as what new states we can see on the slate, according to reports, Michigan has been frequently discussed as an option, though notably changing their primary date would require the Republican lawmakers who control the legislature to sign on.

Starting point is 00:07:41 New Jersey has also signaled its interest as well, but for now, we're gonna have to wait to see what actually happens. But yeah, ultimately I think it makes sense. Democrats have to be a very, very big tent party and they have to appeal to the places that unfortunately matter the most, which are swing states. Why?

Starting point is 00:07:54 Because the electoral college is a thing, right? If you're a Republican in California, you're a Democrat in Wyoming, you essentially have no voice when it comes to choosing the president. You know which way the states are gonna go and it's winner take all. Unfortunately it is what it is

Starting point is 00:08:04 and the popular vote does not reign supreme. And then let's talk about how after four years of systemic murder, rape, and repression by Myanmar's military against the Rohingya minority, the United States finally went, oh yeah, maybe we got a little genocide going on here. All right, so to recap, Myanmar or Burma is a majority Buddhist country

Starting point is 00:08:19 and the Rohingya are a Muslim minority living in the Western Rakhine state. And they've been discriminated against for decades and technically there aren't even citizens there, which makes them one of the largest stateless populations in the world. And things really ratcheted up back in August of 2017, when the military launched into a campaign

Starting point is 00:08:33 of brutal slaughter and violence against them, burning down entire villages and committing crimes against humanity. With some soldiers later confessing to genocide and mass burials having been ordered to kill all you see by their commander. Forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee, making dangerous trips through the jungles and across the

Starting point is 00:08:48 Bay of Bengal into Southern Bangladesh and a few other countries. So there's now at least 900,000 Rohingya refugees packed into these overcrowded camps, more than half of them women and children. And the flimsy shelters made of tarp and bamboo, they're vulnerable to floods and landslides, not to mention the diseases rainy seasons bring like

Starting point is 00:09:02 hepatitis, malaria, and dengue fever. And understand violence against the remaining Rohingya in Myanmar is still happening, like this report of hundreds of homes being razed to the ground just last month. And so in front of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken finally came out and declared the military's actions

Starting point is 00:09:17 a genocide, marking the eighth time since the Holocaust that the US has officially recognized a genocide. And with Blinken saying, the evidence also points to a clear intent behind these mass atrocities, the evidence also points to a clear intent behind these mass atrocities. The intent to destroy Rohingya in whole or in part through killings, rape, and torture. And the key thing with this is it goes beyond just symbolism.

Starting point is 00:09:33 There is a significance here. Because by officially labeling this a genocide, it carries legal weight under international law. So it may help intensify sanctions against Myanmar, limit aid to the government, and affect foreign firms doing business there. And so while understandably, you have some applauding this move by the US, and affect foreign firms doing business there. And so while understandably you have some applauding this move by the US,

Starting point is 00:09:47 you have others asking, why did it take so long? With people like John Sifton, Human Rights Watch's Asia Advocacy Director, calling for tougher sanctions and saying, "'For too long, the US and other countries "'have allowed Myanmar's generals to commit atrocities "'with few real consequences.'" With many arguing that the answer has to do

Starting point is 00:10:00 with the Trump administration, or there was a longstanding debate within the White House about whether taking a tougher stance toward Myanmar might backfire and push the country into China's orbit. With the State Department conducting an examination of the situation to determine if it was indeed genocide. But officials say that process ended abruptly when then State Secretary Mike Pompeo

Starting point is 00:10:15 became enraged after details of it leaked. And instead we ended up seeing Pompeo later declare China's treatment of Uyghurs genocide, prompting accusation it was just politically motivated. Though understand what China is doing to Uyghurs is genocide. But the farthest we saw Pompeo willing to go regarding Myanmar was calling it ethnic cleansing,

Starting point is 00:10:30 which doesn't have the same legal weight that genocide does. Now that said, it's impossible to get into everyone's mind. You end up having to kind of assume. But as to why Blinken is changing the US position now, some think that it has to do with the military coup in February of last year that imprisoned Myanmar's civilian leader. With Timothy McLaughlin writing in the Atlantic,

Starting point is 00:10:46 "'Conventional wisdom may suggest that openness "'is a prerequisite for historic wrongs to be acknowledged. "'In Myanmar, the opposite has proven true. "'The military repression has forced a change of tack, "'eroding some of the rampant anti-Rohingya nationalism "'that was ubiquitous in the country's politics "'and clarifying the choices faced "'by the Biden administration.'"

Starting point is 00:11:01 And then finally today, of course, let's talk about your daily dose of updates on Russia's unjustified war. Starting off with the Ukrainian military saying that it has retaken Makariv, a strategically significant town near Kyiv, expelling Russian forces. Meanwhile, in Mariupol, fighting rages as the city

Starting point is 00:11:14 continues to refuse to surrender. With it also being reported that a senior Pentagon official said that the Russian military has started shelling Mariupol from ships in a major new development. And all of this coming as the Ukrainian military is staging a strong counter offensive to reclaim areas captured by Russia,

Starting point is 00:11:26 specifically in the southern parts of the country. But it's also not just the military fighting back. We've also seen a lot of public defiance from civilians. This including in many places that Russian forces occupied early in the war. Like Kherson, where verified footage and photos showed Russian soldiers opening fire on peaceful protesters on Monday.

Starting point is 00:11:40 And Kherson specifically is very important because Russia's control of that city is key to its effort to take over the South and provide strategic significance because of its coastline and proximity to Crimea. Also, we have renewed concerns over Chernobyl with Ukraine's parliament saying yesterday that forest fires have broken out around the nuclear power plant, prompting fears that the fires could spread radiation. We've also seen the alarming accusations from Ukrainian and US authorities that Russia is forcibly deporting Ukrainians to Russia, this including over 2,300 children from the breakaway regions.

Starting point is 00:12:05 Though you had the Russian embassy in Washington denying those claims, though of course, you have to take that with a grain of salt. Are you talking about a country that has effectively outlawed the truth and reality? Meanwhile, as the battle rages across the country, President Zelensky has continued his push for peace talks, and again, called for direct talks with Putin,

Starting point is 00:12:18 who has so far refused, telling Ukrainian broadcasters late last night that he would consider dropping the country's bid to join NATO, which is one of the most important Russian demands if Russia agrees to a ceasefire, withdraws its troops, and guarantees Ukraine security, with him also seeming to suggest

Starting point is 00:12:31 that he would be open to discussing the status of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, as well as parts of the breakaway Donbass region that are currently held by Russian-backed separatists. And on the note of Putin, as his war stalls out in many places, Western countries are becoming increasingly worried that he may be willing to turn

Starting point is 00:12:44 to deadly unconventional weapons. President Biden himself warning yesterday that the Russian leader could use biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine. Though I do wanna note, he did not provide any evidence and a Pentagon spokesperson has since said that the US hasn't seen any indication that such an escalation is impending.

Starting point is 00:12:58 Still, you did have Biden confirming that Russia has used hypersonic missiles that travel faster than five times the speed of sound, suggesting that they did so to make up for stalemates on the ground. And very importantly, he also alerted U.S. companies that Russia could be preparing to launch cyberattacks in the coming days. But beyond possible attacks Russia may be planning, we've also seen the country increasing its crackdown and dissent within its own borders. Yesterday, for example, a Russian court banned Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for engaging in what they referred to as extremist activities. This after Meta decided earlier this month that it would allow some calls for violence

Starting point is 00:13:25 against Russian soldiers. Under this ban, which notably excludes the Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp, the parent company will be blocked from conducting business operations in Russia effective immediately. With Facebook and Instagram also banned in the country, though they were already blocked,

Starting point is 00:13:36 so it's not a huge change there. But Russia also followed up that decision today by amending an already restrictive censorship law previously used to block Facebook in the country. And under the new changes, quote, "'Discrediting the activities abroad "'of all government bodies will be made illegal.'" Right, previously, the policy just applied to the military.

Starting point is 00:13:50 So now anyone who violates the amended law by spreading, quote, false information about the invasion can be punished with up to 15 years in prison. Also very importantly, on Tuesday, we saw a Russian court sentencing the famous opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, to nine years in prison on fraud charges widely viewed as false and politically motivated, with experts saying that the new punishment for the already imprisoned leader who has encouragedny to nine years in prison on fraud charges widely viewed as false and politically motivated.

Starting point is 00:14:05 With experts saying that the new punishment for the already imprisoned leader who has encouraged Russians to protest the invasion is clearly just an attempt to keep him behind bars, control the narrative and quash any possible defiance. But ultimately that is where I'm going to leave this ever evolving situation. And this is also the end of today's show.

Starting point is 00:14:20 Thank you for watching. I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 3.22 This Disgusting Ace Family Exploitation Makes Me Sick, Scam Accusations, Fezco Abandoned, & More

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