The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 4.1 WOW! GUESS WHO GOT CAUGHT ON VIDEO! Billie Eilish vs Taylor Swift, Oklahoma's Secret Chinese Mob, &

Episode Date: April 1, 2024

We Need to talk about this new footage...Start your free trial today: http://www.Squarespace.com/Phil  & enter offer code “Phil” to get 10% off your first purchase!  ==== GET 25% OFF @ https://B...eautifulBastard.com with codes "FOOLS" until 8AM PT April 2nd.  ==== ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Police Searching for Rashee Rice After Hit and Run 02:17 - Billie Eilish Clarifies Comments Slamming Artists For Wasteful Vinyls  05:02 - Oklahoma’s Secret Black Market11:06 - Sponsored by Squarespace 11:48 - 800,000 Fish Killed After Company Spills Fertilizer Into River 13:41 - Israelis Condemn Netanyahu in Largest Protests Since Oct. 7 15:57 - Violence in Haiti is Fueled by Guns from the U.S. 19:02 - Your Thoughts on Thursday’s Show  ——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxwell Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Star Pralle, Chris Tolve, Jared Paolino Associate Producer on Oklahoma Black Market: Jared Paolino ———————————— #DeFranco #BillieEilish #TaylorSwift ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup you beautiful bastards! You're watching the Philip DeFranco Show. It's Monday, we're back in the studio. I know some of y'all hated the tracking camera from the roadshows, so rejoice in me returning to my sedentary nature. But also, before we jump into the news, an awesome announcement. While pretty much everyone else is trying to mess with you right now because it's April Fool's Day, I decided to do something different and just give y'all 25% off at beautifulbastard.com until 8am Pacific tomorrow. And check out, you just gotta enter in promo code FOOL. And this works on both today's drop, which includes our Nothing Good Can Last gear,
Starting point is 00:00:28 our Crazy Comfy Being Me Is a Full-Time Job tee and cruise, Are You Happy Goodness, and the return of the Emotionally Exhausted Joggers. As well as everything else on site, including our best sellers, including Emotionally Exhausted, Yeah, No, I'm Fine, Don't Be Stupid, Stupid,
Starting point is 00:00:42 Take Me First, and so much more. Yeah, get in on this while you can, because you'd be a fool not to see what I did with the, anyway, we got a lot of news to talk about today, so hit that like button to let YouTube know you like these big daily dives into the news, and let's jump into it.
Starting point is 00:00:53 Starting with, Texas police are on a manhunt right now for Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rasheed Rice. And this in connection to a dramatic hit and run that was caught on video Saturday. With dash cam video initially showing nothing out of the ordinary on this expressway in North Dallas, until all of a sudden a Corvette and a Lamborghini shoot down the far left lane. With the Lamborghini losing control, veering into the shoulder, and then crashing into several other cars in a median wall along with the Corvette.
Starting point is 00:01:15 And then after the dust settles, you see the occupants of both those sports cars running away without even stopping to check whether anyone was hurt. And so now, while police are still investigating exactly who fled the scene, but they suspect that the Corvette's driver was 23-year-old Rasheed Rice, the same guy that was a key player in the Chiefs' Super Bowl win, boasting the most receiving touchdowns on the team and more receptions and yards that season than anyone except Travis Kelsey. So the fact that he was allegedly involved in a hit and run not only massive for its own reason, but also because of the impacts this may have for the NFL in general, as well as the Super Bowl champions. So the good thing here, or let's call it a silver lining,
Starting point is 00:01:45 is that according to police, luckily no one suffered more than minor injuries from the crash. But that doesn't mean these people weren't wronged or traumatized. For example, a mom who was driving one of the vehicles telling Dallas Morning News that her four-year-old son was left shaking and crying afterward, and adding that her car is now undriveable and saying, It's the fact that there was no sympathy shown to where y'all can even have the decency to stop and check to make sure someone's okay, someone's alive, you know? Well, now the latest update we have as of recording this video is that CBS is reporting that Rice has gotten legal counsel following Saturday's incident.
Starting point is 00:02:13 But for now, we're gonna have to wait to see what kind of impact this has on his life and or career. And then, is there really anything as fun as pitting two immensely successful women against each other? I mean, I have to imagine not, because we keep seeing it happen over and over, with the most recent example of this drama being Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift. And this most recent situation began with an interview Billie did with Billboard about sustainability and how it can be prioritized in the music industry. They're speaking to Billboard alongside her mom and discussing what their efforts have looked like and what progress has been made in the industry overall since Billie's career started. But what ended up getting the most attention was Billie calling out the practice of releasing different vinyl variants, right?
Starting point is 00:02:47 Different vinyls for the same exact album, but in different colors or with different bonus tracks or new cover art, people encouraging fans to collect them with her saying, we live in this day and age where for some reason it's very important to some artists to make all sorts of different vinyl and packaging, which ups the sales and ups the numbers.
Starting point is 00:03:01 But then going on to say, I can't even express to you how wasteful it is. I find it really frustrating as somebody who really goes out of my way to be sustainable and do the best that I can and try to involve everybody in my team in being sustainable. And then it's some of the biggest artists in the world making fucking 40 different vinyl packages
Starting point is 00:03:15 that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more. It's so wasteful and it's irritating to me that we're still at a point where you care that much about your numbers and you care that much about making money. And Billy's mom adding that artists do this to chart and hit number one. This is actually a systemic problem and actually maybe billboard should add restrictions because
Starting point is 00:03:30 you can't just blame artists for playing the charting game. With Billy then adding, I was watching the Hunger Games and it made me think about it because it's like, we're all going to do it because it's the only way to play the game. It's just kind of accentuating this already kind of messed up way of this industry working. And so with that, people saw her comments and they immediately thought of Taylor Swift, because she's sort of the queen of vinyl lately. In fact, in 2023, one out of every 15 vinyls sold was for Taylor Swift, and she plays that variant game big time. With her upcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department, she already has several different versions of the vinyl, each with a different bonus track
Starting point is 00:04:00 or packaging, many of which were also only available for a limited time. There were also many different limited versions, a 1989 Taylor's version, including one with an extra song, as well as multiple color variations of Midnight's. And if you got them all, you can actually make a clock out of the back covers. I mean, really, the list goes on and on. That said, she, of course, is not the only person doing this. But because her vinyl sales are so massive, she has been the biggest example. So that's why with this, you had tons of people seeing Billie's comments and calling Taylor out and Swifties getting defensives, and led some people to know that Billie herself has several variants for Happier Than Ever. So it's also worth noting there that at least some of those variants are made from recycled materials,
Starting point is 00:04:32 which is actually something Billboard even noted in their article. But then all of this drama got to such a big point, Billie came out to address it, writing on Instagram, Okay, so it would be so awesome if people would stop putting words into my mouth. I wasn't singling anyone out. These are industry-wide systemic issues, and when it comes to Barron, so many artists release them, including me, which I clearly state in the article. The climate crisis is now, and it's about all of us being part of the problem and trying to do better. Sheesh. But with all that said, whether you're a
Starting point is 00:04:56 Billie Eilish stan, you're a Swifty, you love both of them. You don't care about either. I'd love to know your thoughts on this. And then when you think of Oklahoma, one of the last things you probably think about is the Chinese mob. Though I shouldn't assume, maybe you do. But if you do, you know, this story is not going to be that surprising to you. Because as it turns out, Oklahoma has actually become the epicenter of America's booming illegal marijuana market. And organized crime groups with ties to the Chinese government are behind it. Or at least, that's what's been revealed by a joint investigation from ProPublica and the Frontier. Now with that said, it's not like organized crime or the illicit drug trade is new to the United States. But what is interesting here is how it's actually being driven in some ways by the increasing,
Starting point is 00:05:31 but uneven legalization of marijuana across the country. So let's start there. Marijuana is now legal in one form or another in about 40 states. But that also means you can encounter very different rules about how the stuff can be grown, sold, and consumed just by crossing state lines. And the investigation found that this legal variability is part of what's created the conditions for a massive black market to thrive. Which brings us to Oklahoma. See, even in states where weed is legal, laws typically limit how much someone is allowed to actually
Starting point is 00:05:53 grow. In Colorado, for example, a marijuana cultivation facility can be licensed in different classes or tiers depending on the number of plants being grown or whether it's for medicinal use or retail. But when Oklahomans voted to legalize medical marijuana back in 2018, they approved a measure that didn't place any limits on the number of dispensaries or growing operations. Like it literally said, there shall be no limits on how much marijuana a licensed grower can grow. And so this, along with cheap land and limited enforcement of other rules, helped turn Oklahoma into a top destination for black market marijuana growers almost overnight. And one man at the forefront of all this goes by the name Ha-Chiang Chen.
Starting point is 00:06:23 He came to the U.S. from China around 30 years ago. For a long time, he stayed pretty much off the radar, with his only documented encounters with the law being some tickets for speeding and reckless driving. And whether or not Chen was actually a law-abiding citizen all those years, he definitely wasn't in 2017. Because that's when he and his brother purchased a property in California and converted the barn into an illegal grow house, trying to take advantage of the state's recent legalization of marijuana. And as the article explains, they were far from the only ones trying to do something like this. Saying the cross-country move was part of a migration of criminal groups into the marijuana industry.
Starting point is 00:06:49 Other destinations included Colorado and the Pacific Northwest. And going on to say the players who established clandestine grows included Mexican cartels, Cuban immigrant gangs, and longtime locals. But the Chinese crews were the biggest and best organized. And it's not like this went totally unnoticed. Chen, his brother, and several of their associates were busted in 2018 as part of a joint operation between states and the federal government called Operation Lights Out. But other than that, there apparently haven't been that many big operations targeting the Chinese-run marijuana trade. Now, part of the struggle is just that state and federal agencies lack the people who know Chinese language and culture well enough to
Starting point is 00:07:18 investigate the cases. But also, former DEA officials told ProPublica and the Frontier that they've also just become less of a priority. And they say that's actually a mistake because the illegal marijuana industry isn't just about marijuana. It's also a way for criminal organizations to fund their other operations, like money laundering and migrant smuggling. Ray Donovan, the former chief of operations for the DEA, telling the investigation team, the challenge we're having is a lack of interest by federal prosecutors to charge illicit marijuana cases. And adding, they don't realize all the implications. Marijuana causes so much crime at the local level, gun violence in particular. The same group selling thousands of pounds of marijuana
Starting point is 00:07:47 are also laundering millions of dollars of fentanyl money. And that leads us back to Oklahoma. See, after the medical marijuana measure passed there, it basically became the new California, at least for growing wheat. Except it was actually even better, because without any legal limits on quantities, growers could just grow tens of thousands of plants
Starting point is 00:08:01 on a cheap bit of farmland, all while disguising it as a legal operation. That's what He Qiang Chen did. And he did this with an associate by the name of Yi Fei Lin. See, after receiving a probation sentence for his 2018 bus, Chen allegedly had Lin purchase a 10-acre property in Kingfisher County for $280,000. And then he paid cash to a local man
Starting point is 00:08:15 by the name of Richard Ignacio to pose as the 75% owner of the business and obtain a license, circumventing a state law that marijuana businesses be majority owned by Oklahoma residents. And once again, they were far from the only ones. With a DEA agent from Denver by the name of Ray Padilla estimating that 90% of the illegal marijuana growers that had been in Colorado moved to Oklahoma. With that many new people coming in, Oklahoma quickly became a top producer of black
Starting point is 00:08:34 market weed. And at this point, I feel like I need to throw some numbers at you so you kind of understand what I mean. Just try to convey the scale of this thing. We had officials estimating that the value of the state's illegal marijuana market at somewhere between $18 billion and $44 billion a year. That makes it the second biggest industry in the state, only trailing the oil and gas industry. And at its peak, authorities suspected that most of the 10,000 licensed marijuana growers in the state were actually trafficking on the black market. And 80% of the links that they found between illegal growers and foreign crime groups were with groups of Chinese origin. Like the DEA guy said, it is not just about the weed. 2023, for example, authorities uncovered
Starting point is 00:09:05 a human trafficking operation linked to a brothel inside a Northwest Oklahoma city home, with Mark Woodward, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics saying, "'The clients coming and going from this brothel were administrators and managers of marijuana farms, specifically linking the rise of marijuana farms to increased prostitution as well
Starting point is 00:09:18 as the use of drugs like ketamine.'" And on top of that, court cases and testimonies reveal things like illegal casinos cropping up and a general rise in robberies and violence. But the crime that made international headlines and in the investigation's words set off a flurry of investigative activity and political attention, that took place on He Qiang Chen's farm in 2022, a few months after a man by the name of Chen Wu moved to Oklahoma and invested in the operation. See, Wu had worked on the farm for a short time before arguing with his associates over money. But in November, he came back barging into the
Starting point is 00:09:42 garage, shooting Chen in the knee and demanding that the others get the money that he believed that he was owed. And we're talking $300,000 worth. And by the end of the night, four people were dead, with Wu speeding toward Florida while on the phone with smugglers to get help fleeing the country. But the police arrested Wu before he could escape, and a judge later sentencing him to life without the possibility of parole. And so with all eyes on Oklahoma, the officials initiated a crackdown. And notably, a crackdown that they say has nearly halved the number of growing operations in the state. But that also wasn't the end of it. The bipartisan group of state and federal lawmakers sending a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland in February expressing concerns that, quote,
Starting point is 00:10:10 Chinese nationals are reportedly operating thousands of illicit marijuana farms across the country, and calling out farms in Oklahoma as well as in Maine and Washington state. And with that, also raising the issue of the Chinese Communist Party's involvement in the industry. Right, and this is one of the key issues that we haven't touched on yet. Basically, it's believed that in exchange for government protection, Chinese gangs provide the CCP with illicit financial services as well as spying on and intimidating Chinese immigrant communities. So on top of these concerns about crime and violence, we have this argument that this is actually a national security issue as well. You know, all of this isn't to say that marijuana itself or the legalization of this stuff is inherently a bad thing. I mean, we've seen how much real harm has been caused by the
Starting point is 00:10:44 criminalization of pot in the war on drugs. And the goal here isn't to vilify Chinese or other immigrant communities. I mean, in fact, the victims of these gangs are more often than not Chinese immigrants themselves. With the investigation noting they're the ones working under abusive conditions at these farms and being forced into prostitution for the bosses. But the whole thing is certainly a lesson in unintended consequences. As we have this crazy contrast with the legalization of marijuana has in some ways led to this massive expansion of the underground market. And then for any of you focused on getting your business off the ground, creating a place to share your homemade goods, or even a personal blog, I got a great solution for you. And it comes from, and I want to thank the fantastic
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Starting point is 00:11:33 Plus, with Squarespace, you get access to all their marketing tools and analytics and their award-winning customer care team via email or live chat 24-7. So go check it out. See why others love it. See why you're going to love it. And start your free trial today over at squarespace.com slash fill. Just make sure you enter an offer code fill to get 10% off your first purchase. And then we just saw one tiny mistake lead to a virtual genocide in Iowa this month.
Starting point is 00:11:54 So as far as this mistake, it was that someone from the agricultural firm New Cooperative, they left a valve open on an above ground fertilizer storage tank over a weekend. With reportedly 265,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen solution spilling first into a drainage ditch, then into the East Nishnabatna River, and it then flowing and continuing until it finally went into a small part of the Missouri River. Now, here's the thing. When liquid nitrogen reacts with relatively warm water, it creates ammonia, which is a gas that's toxic to aquatic life. So with the amount of chemicals that we're talking about here, this river system became a deadly gassy mess, causing what one Missouri official called a near total fish kill for 60 miles,
Starting point is 00:12:26 with nearly 800,000 fish reportedly dying and piling up on the banks of the rivers. We're talking about everything from minnows, shiners, dace and chubs, to shovel-nosed sturgeon, blue suckers, catfish and carp. Though somewhat fortunately, the vast majority were smaller species, so the actual loss of biomass is much lower
Starting point is 00:12:40 than the numbers suggest. But still, we're talking about this being Iowa's worst fish kill since runoff from a dairy farm in 2013 killed more than 800,000. And a fisheries biologist telling the New York Times the ecosystem could take decades to fully recover. Though also, very much worth noting here, we're talking about this because this was a large one, but small and medium-sized fish kills actually happen pretty frequently in the United States. For example, officials in the neighboring state of Missouri responding to around 100 a year. And the leading cause of these being pollution from municipal and agricultural wastewater. But that's also not to say, like, this is inevitable.
Starting point is 00:13:07 For example, environmental activists in Iowa, they've been pushing for stricter regulations to keep agricultural nitrates out of the water. You see, the farmers, they have a lot of influence over their state's legislature, which is currently controlled by Republicans. But as far as what's next here, you know, the focus is on cleaning up this month's mess, with officials warning people to avoid recreational activities on the river and not to collect or consume dead fish found near it. While most of the initial spill has left the system, it is possible that some nitrogen settled near the riverbed, which is very important to know because when the temperature starts warming during the spring, that could actually create more ammonia, killing even more
Starting point is 00:13:34 fish. But for now, we're going to keep our eyes on this, not only to see what comes from the authorities investigating this, but also to see what our next completely preventable disaster will be. And then Israeli opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached a new high, with tens of thousands gathering in Jerusalem yesterday in one of the largest protests the country has seen in recent history. And this coming just a day after thousands demonstrated in Tel Aviv. In both of these protests centering around demands for Bibi's resignation. Though I should also note that some of the protesters were simply demanding that Israel's negotiating team be given more leeway in securing a deal for the release of hostages. And also with that, notably, in-person talks between Israel and Hamas have actually started up again in Cairo.
Starting point is 00:14:08 It's also hard to be optimistic about those talks as we've seen them lead to nothing time and time again. And for many of those protesting in Israel this weekend, Netanyahu has been one of the reasons why. For example, a family member of one hostage who was killed telling AP that the government is busy putting sticks in the wheels of negotiations for the hostages, and adding that Netanyahu is only working in his private interests. And something notable about these protests is how these criticisms of Netanyahu's handling of the hostage situation, and how they're now being linked to criticisms that existed long before October 7th. You know, the accusation that Netanyahu is only working in his private interests is also fueled by the corruption allegations he's been
Starting point is 00:14:39 facing for years. And similarly, we've seen protesters saying that his attempt to overhaul the judiciary last year created political divisions that weakened Israel ahead of the attack by Hamas. With Rebecca Ritter, as a correspondent for German broadcaster DW News, explaining. These are certainly starting to resemble some of the bigger anti-government demonstrations we were seeing in the lead up last year, in the lead up to the war. That was against, of course, plans to overhaul the judiciary. Now, what we're also seeing, as well as a change in fervor, is the merging of two separate protests. And one, of course, being that anti-government protest I speak of.
Starting point is 00:15:11 But there have been weekly rallies that started out as kind of a vigil, if you will, for the hostages. And that is now moving in to join this anti-government protest. So it's growing in size. Notably, this all comes as Netanyahu has to decide whether or not to extend the exemption that ultra-Orthodox Jews have from Israel's compulsory military service. With some saying this dispute could actually lead to the collapse of his government, as either decision is going to alienate some of his allies. But in any case, Netanyahu has ruled out early elections and restated his intention to launch an attack against Hamas in
Starting point is 00:15:39 the southern city of Rafah. And with that, it's important to note that Israelis are generally not divided about going after Hamas. While protesters take issue with the way that the war is being handled and the failure to rescue or free all the hostages, there is overwhelming support there for that objective. But that's where we are as the death toll in Gaza now reportedly exceeds 30,000 and you have UN officials warning of imminent famine. And then, cataclysmic. That's the word the UN used to describe the situation in Haiti in a report released last week as corruption, impunity, and poor governance, along with ever-increasing levels of gang violence, have brought the country to the brink of collapse. And it's already led to the resignation of a prime minister, the near-complete takeover of the country's capital by a gang leader known as
Starting point is 00:16:16 Barbecue, and the deaths of at least 1,500 people this year. And now we're seeing the Wall Street Journal reporting that the violence is fueled at least in part by how easy it is to buy guns in the U.S. With them finding that the vast majority of weapons going into the country are often purchased in American stores. Often by so-called straw buyers, acting as stand-ins for the gangs, and then they're sent to Haiti as disassembled parts hidden in shipments of other goods. And it's actually sort of because of how these weapons are smuggled that it's so hard to stop. You see, they're not making bulk shipments here. Instead, a vessel packed with other cargo only has a few guns. And in the past, they've been found inside things like secondhand televisions, furniture, paint buckets, and food items, as well as secondhand vehicles. And actually, in one 2022 case, a woman tried to
Starting point is 00:16:53 board a flight to Haiti with a handgun hidden inside of a chicken. And so basically, while officials do intercept lots and lots of weapons, they say it's almost impossible to look through every single shipment as thoroughly as would be needed to find every one. So as a result, 300 or so gangs are running rampant in the country with better weapons than the police. Also, to be clear, right, the situation's been bad in Haiti for a long time. With, for example, more than 11,000 homicides logged from 2019 through 2023. And the violence has just been steadily increasing. With 4,789 homicides registered in 2023 alone, up 119% from 2022. And the 1,500 killings so far this year have put the country on the track to exceed that total. And notably, with this increase in
Starting point is 00:17:30 violence, there's been an increase in not only the number of U.S. bought guns going into the country, but also in how powerful they are. With Anthony Salisbury, who heads Homeland Security Investigations in Miami, to that point, the UN found the gangs have only recently started using more deadly hollow-point bullets. This is U.S. investigators recently obtained audio recordings of gang members, quote, speaking enthusiastically about securing more powerful weaponry and ammunition. And as far as why we're seeing this, well, it's the money, stupid. I mean, if it wasn't so deeply unethical and disgusting, like, I'd be interested in the numbers.
Starting point is 00:18:10 Like, it puts the makeup industry's margins to shame. With the UN finding that a semi-automatic rifle purchased for a few hundred dollars in the US can go for as much as $8,000 in Haiti. And that, as a.50 cal sniper rifle valued at like $10,000 in the US can be sold for up to $80,000 to a gang. That also has resulted in people going, well, how can these gangs afford this? Well, for a long time, it was
Starting point is 00:18:29 corrupt businessmen and politicians financing and arming Haiti's gangs. But now you've got the journal saying that it's the gang bosses, not politicians or oligarchs that are largely calling the shots. And according to UN expert William O'Neill, that's because, quote, they make so much money now from kidnapping, extortion, and stealing stuff that they have developed independent sources of income they didn't have before. It's basically of the situation where U.S. guns are both contributing to the horrific violence taking place in Haiti right now, and the ability of Haiti's gangs to make money to buy more guns and cause more violence. It's a problem that feeds itself into growing bigger and bigger. But from now, we'll have to wait to see what happens with and what comes from all the chaos.
Starting point is 00:19:03 And then, finally today, let's talk about the comments on the last video. Usually we call it yesterday today, though I've seen more and more people starting to call it comment commentary. Sure, viewer's choice. But whatever you call it, there were a lot of comments on that last show, which was also fantastically the only one last week that seemingly was not suppressed by YouTube. And a lot of people were signing off on that messy Hawaii situation where people built and sold a home on a woman's property. And then all of a sudden now she and pretty much everyone else involved are in these crazy legal troubles. With Unsweet Sweets saying, the fact that they think this woman is unreasonable for not wanting her property to be stolen from them. And Mr. Atomar saying,
Starting point is 00:19:34 right, she paid for a thing, it was stolen from her and sold off, and somehow the developer is allowed to even suggest that she's at fault. And Limner saying, the developer should pay to tear down the house and restore the vegetation to its previous condition. The woman obviously owns the land and is not responsible for what amounts to vandalism. Just because you make something you like doesn't mean it's not vandalism. Then Twiz adding, Why is there even a legal battle over that woman's home and property?
Starting point is 00:19:54 She didn't sell. It's hers. The state needs to heavily fine the contractors responsible, remove whoever in the county approved the build, and bring her taxes back to the normal rate. She also deserves some sort of security to remove the squatters. That's absolutely disgusting we even have to have the conversation. Quote, it would set a bad precedent if you could just build on people's property like what? That's never been allowed because our forefathers had the foresight to know that's stupid. Though to that you had Captain Eco saying, not to be that person, but our forefathers built our country on doing exactly that.
Starting point is 00:20:19 And then in addition to all the back and forth on that, there was a lot of conversations around for-profit prisons. Because we talked about the lawsuit and scandals involving visitation, or rather the lack of it and pushing people towards things where they get to charge families for video calls. And while there's no shortage of people sharing their opinions,
Starting point is 00:20:33 there were also a lot of people that shared their experiences. With CNOW82 saying, unfortunately, my brother's been in and out of jail his whole life. Started in the 90s. Back then, we could come visit in person, talk and hang out.
Starting point is 00:20:42 In the last 20 years, it has been insane. First, had to go to a video kiosk to visit. Now, mostly video visits and phone calls. It is insanely expensive. I've gone periods without being able to talk because I couldn't afford it. Because you don't just pay for visits. There's commissary and gifts you can buy, all with fees. Just depositing money has a fee now.
Starting point is 00:20:59 The for-profit prison system is disgusting. These people are treated like animals. Not all inmates are murderers, and some are innocent. Our justice system is more about making money than rehabilitation or safety. And the people are demonized. Most people are poor. How many rich people get locked up? Praying on the destitute just shows how disgusting this system is. In response to that, you had Acid Funkish adding, the problem, not for the prisons, but for the people, is that connections to the outside, ones that are maintained throughout a sentence, have a big impact on not only their
Starting point is 00:21:23 behavior in prison, but their recidivism rate as well. Great incentive for the prisons, but really absolutely awful human impact. And you know, I agree with many of the comments saying, you know, for-profit prisons, we see a lot of barbaric and plainly evil things. But I would also say, I think it's one of the most transparent things in our society. Like, while it's not something that might be top of mind, unless you have someone you care about that's actually in prison right now, it's a showcasing how we have so many systems in place. I don't see people as people. How people have become and have been for a while
Starting point is 00:21:48 products to be exploited. In a system either devoid of humanity or has tastes, bits of humanity, kind of as window dressing. And then the final thing I'll mention is there were people that were like, say pay money, Wubby's day. You used his clip, you credited Moist Critical.
Starting point is 00:22:02 Which yeah, I think one of the editors sourced a clip that was a reaction to that. I don't know. Whatever. It wasn't on purpose. It was a roadshow. Little things like this happen. What I think is a little bit more on roadshows.
Starting point is 00:22:11 So there you go. But that is where today's show is going to end. One, as always, thank you for being a part of these daily dives into the news. Two, make sure to get in while you can over at beautifulbastard.com. Remember, the Fool's sale ends tomorrow at 8 a.m. Pacific. Till then, Code Fools gets you 25% off. And three, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in.
Starting point is 00:22:28 I love yo faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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