Scurrying to calcify The Resistance (01-06-2025--Hour3)

[00:00:04] What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to 3 on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepetekalendershow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, right to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support.

[00:00:28] A couple of items and messages here just to clean up from the last hour regarding Kamala Harris certifying the Electoral College victory for Donald Trump. Eric says, did you notice that Kamala Harris secured fewer electoral votes than Hillary Clinton did? LOL, she was really a terrible candidate. It's true. That's true.

[00:00:56] Um, Bound by Duty says, welcome back, Pete, from your well-deserved time off. My lunchtime ritual is back in order. My ride home on 485 helps complete my information-based enjoyment using your podcast. Lots of things have happened since you've been out. No shortage of topics, in my opinion. That is true.

[00:01:18] Even though I explicitly said, do not break anything while I was gone. Lots of stuff got broken by many people. It's almost like they don't listen to me. Um, Sean Davis from The Federalist. He says,

[00:01:37] the only thing Democrats got in exchange for screeching about my insurrection for four years was being bullied into accepting a Republican as president for the first time in forever. Like that's right. Because this is the first time in this century that congressional Democrats have not objected to the certification of a Republican president.

[00:02:01] First time in the 21st century. Because they couldn't very well do it now, right? After, after complaining about democracy and the insurrection and all of this, they could not get out there today and object to the certification of the results. So, so there's that.

[00:02:23] I got a message also from Bob who asked, uh, regarding, uh, George Soros getting one of the, uh, medals of freedom from Biden. There was a list of 19 people. I was going through some of them in the last hour. Real quick. Um, Joe Biden gave the medal of freedom, which is the highest civilian honor in the nation. Uh, gave it to, uh, Hillary Clinton, uh, George Soros, Bono from the band U2, Michael

[00:02:51] LJ Fox from back to the future. Uh, uh, magic Johnson, uh, the basketball legend, Ralph Lauren, uh, the fashion guy, uh, soccer player, Lionel Messi, Denzel Washington, Anna Wintour, the editor in chief of Vogue magazine, Bill Nye, the science guy who doesn't even have a degree in science.

[00:03:14] If I recall correctly, um, RFK, not junior, but the slain former New York Senator and U S attorney general from the, you got murdered by Sirhan Sirhan 50 years ago.

[00:03:31] Jane Goodall who hung out with all the apes, you know, David Rubenstein, the billionaire co-founder of the Carlisle group donor David, uh, sorry.

[00:03:44] Uh, Jose Andres, the celebrity chef and founder of the world central kitchen charity group. That's a good one. I feel like that that's a pretty good medal to give.

[00:03:54] Ashton Baldwin Carter, former defense secretary, Tim Gill, an entrepreneur whose work has advanced LGBT rights.

[00:04:04] George Romney, mid Romney's dad got one George Stevens, junior and author and playwright and Fannie Lou Hamer, the late civil rights leader and founder of the Mississippi freedom democratic party.

[00:04:18] So that those were the 19 that got the medals.

[00:04:23] And, um, I was, uh, truth be told, I was, I was, I was dragging George Soros a little bit in the last hour.

[00:04:32] I don't regret it.

[00:04:33] Um, not a fan.

[00:04:35] And Bob wanted to know how does Soros benefit from anarchy because Soros has been funding these district attorney races to put into office.

[00:04:47] These far left, you know, criminal justice reform activists who have not been holding people accountable for crimes.

[00:04:59] They don't prosecute, they cut all sorts of deals and their jurisdictions have turned into war zones or hell holes or both.

[00:05:09] And Bob wants to know how does Soros benefit from that?

[00:05:14] He says, I don't understand his motivation, hatred for American culture.

[00:05:18] How do entrepreneurs justify damaging systems from which their wealth arose?

[00:05:23] Soros, so Soros, you got to remember, like, this is a currency manipulator guy.

[00:05:30] He's a currency trader and, um, investor guy, right?

[00:05:35] So he's not like an entrepreneur.

[00:05:37] He's not going out there trying to create a product that people want.

[00:05:43] See, that's the beauty of the free market is that if you create a product or a service that actually has value for people,

[00:05:51] then people will want it.

[00:05:55] And so you are then making their lives better in some small or large way, right?

[00:06:03] They're choosing voluntarily to buy your product because they believe it gives them benefit.

[00:06:10] And you're helping.

[00:06:13] So an entrepreneur is helping people and the economy and, usually, the society.

[00:06:23] That's the beauty of the free market.

[00:06:25] Is it perfect?

[00:06:26] No.

[00:06:26] But it's the—it's us.

[00:06:29] The free market is you.

[00:06:32] The free market is me.

[00:06:34] Right?

[00:06:35] That's what the free market is.

[00:06:36] And commies like to, you know, throw the word capitalist around like it's a slur.

[00:06:42] I'm not offended by it.

[00:06:44] But if you want to call me a capitalist, fine.

[00:06:46] I am a free marketeer.

[00:06:48] I believe in the free market.

[00:06:51] Because it represents billions of factors made at any given point.

[00:07:01] It's the only way that you could do it.

[00:07:02] It's such a complex system because we are all individual people with different needs and wants that change minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day.

[00:07:14] Right now, I may not be willing to pay, you know, $50 for your product.

[00:07:20] But you put it on sale and now you give it to me for $40.

[00:07:23] Okay, now I will.

[00:07:24] Why?

[00:07:25] I don't know.

[00:07:26] Maybe $40 was my limit.

[00:07:28] Maybe I feel like I'm getting a deal.

[00:07:29] Maybe I've got FOMO, fear of missing out.

[00:07:32] Maybe I need the thing now.

[00:07:34] That's one of the things, you know, about like, for example, advertising.

[00:07:38] A lot of products that are advertised, not just on the radio or on podcast, TV, wherever.

[00:07:44] A lot of products that are advertised are not products that you're going to buy over and over and over and over again.

[00:07:52] So what is the point of advertising over and over and over again, right, for years and years and years for the same product?

[00:07:59] Well, yes, it's to find new people that may need that service.

[00:08:02] But it's also to create in somebody's mind a memory of a product or a service, of the name, of a website, a phone number, whatever, a brand.

[00:08:12] It's so they remember it for when they do need it.

[00:08:15] So how do you measure that?

[00:08:18] Like, how do you capture all of those decision points, all of those factors at the point of purchase?

[00:08:25] There's no other way to do it more efficiently than the free market because everybody decides on their own.

[00:08:32] And if a business is able to meet the demand, they will then adjust to what those demand levels are with the commensurate supply.

[00:08:40] It's a beautiful system.

[00:08:42] Like, when you think about what it actually measures is freedom.

[00:08:48] It's our ability to engage in free exercise of commerce.

[00:08:55] It's beautiful.

[00:08:58] And I think that's why some people hate it.

[00:09:00] Some people hate beautiful things.

[00:09:03] And I also think that there's a lot of ignorance as to the beauty of this system and what it really is.

[00:09:07] That's why I keep talking about the free market being you and me, our decisions.

[00:09:14] Hey, you know what?

[00:09:14] I could really go for a pepperoni pizza right now.

[00:09:18] Why?

[00:09:19] I don't know.

[00:09:20] I want a pizza.

[00:09:22] I love pepperoni pizza.

[00:09:23] I haven't had pepperoni pizza.

[00:09:24] Whatever the decision is, whatever the factor is in that, rather than the government coming in and saying, like they do in the K-12 government schools, today is pepperoni pizza day whether you like it or not.

[00:09:35] Right?

[00:09:36] That's not a free market.

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[00:10:52] I did not finish the answer.

[00:10:57] Bob wanted to know.

[00:10:59] So what's in it for Soros?

[00:11:00] Why would you fund all of these district attorneys to then implement these soft-on-crime policies, these approaches to offer plea bargains and dismissals and such?

[00:11:13] Oh, by the way, they just dismissed all of the cases, I think, against the UNC Tentifada crowd up there in Chapel Hill.

[00:11:22] Yeah, like that's what you get, right?

[00:11:25] Non-enforcement of law, which then, of course, sends the signal to people who wish to break more laws.

[00:11:30] They can continue to break more laws with impunity because there aren't going to be any repercussions to them.

[00:11:36] It also sends signals to the law-abiding people that they are fools because they're following these laws.

[00:11:47] Because while some people may be motivated to follow the law because I'm a good person and I like to follow all the rules, spoiler alert, you're not following all of the rules.

[00:11:57] Nobody can.

[00:11:58] There are too many.

[00:11:59] Show me the man, I'll show you the crime, right?

[00:12:03] The vast majority of people follow the laws because they are afraid of the penalties for not doing so.

[00:12:11] How many people would be speeding more, right?

[00:12:17] How many more people would be speeding at higher rates if there were no speed limit and that speed limit was not enforced with any kind of punishment, right?

[00:12:27] That's the point.

[00:12:29] And so when you strip away the punishments, now you are going to encourage more of the thing that is not being punished because the people who were following the rules because they were afraid of the punishment now are not afraid of any punishment.

[00:12:45] People who don't care about punishment are not deterred by the punishments, obviously.

[00:12:53] So why would Soros do this?

[00:12:56] What's the motivation for doing this?

[00:12:57] Why would he want these DAs to be in office and have this breakdown of the society?

[00:13:05] Well, it's much like all of the reasons why what I call temporary anarchists, because they're not really anarchists.

[00:13:15] They just want chaos for a little while, just for a bit.

[00:13:19] But you create conditions that are so terrible that people will then clamor for a crackdown to restore order.

[00:13:28] That is the natural response.

[00:13:33] Happens throughout human history in every society.

[00:13:37] Things get too out of control.

[00:13:39] Somebody comes in and promises to restore order.

[00:13:41] They get power.

[00:13:44] And if they were if Vladimir Putin did it, blew up an apartment building, allegedly.

[00:13:50] I blamed it on some terrorists or something.

[00:13:54] And they were like, oh, my gosh, everybody's freaking out.

[00:13:56] So let's have a restore order campaign.

[00:14:00] I mean, the creation of the TSA.

[00:14:02] Right.

[00:14:03] You have all these reactions to chaotic incidents.

[00:14:07] And it's all the same.

[00:14:08] They were going to institute, implement order.

[00:14:10] And then people yield freedom for security.

[00:14:16] Because that's the natural tendency.

[00:14:18] The natural tendency of government is to grow, is to take more and more liberty from its citizens.

[00:14:24] And the natural tendency of the citizenry is to give it up, is to trade it in for a perception of security, a belief that they are more secure.

[00:14:37] And the Faustian bargain always ends the same.

[00:14:40] It ends with people in tents in Western North Carolina that can't get FEMA trailers.

[00:14:45] Right.

[00:14:45] It always ends the same way because government can never deliver on the promises of the security that they made.

[00:14:52] You end up with New Orleans.

[00:14:54] You end up with an open southern border.

[00:14:55] You end up with a subway system in New York City that is just riddled with with crime and stabbings and such.

[00:15:05] So.

[00:15:06] But people keep making that.

[00:15:08] They keep making a choice.

[00:15:09] They keep making that that that Faustian deal.

[00:15:13] So if you are the one who creates the chaos.

[00:15:17] Are you in it just to create the chaos?

[00:15:20] I would submit no.

[00:15:22] You are actually in it.

[00:15:24] I mean, aside from like being the actual stabber on the subway car.

[00:15:29] Like they're in it for the chaos.

[00:15:31] But if you're at the Soros level.

[00:15:34] You're not in it to create chaos for chaos's sake.

[00:15:38] You're in it to create chaos.

[00:15:40] So you can be part of the solution.

[00:15:43] So you can be part of the restoration of order.

[00:15:48] Why do you think he donates all the money to politicians that don't have anything to do with.

[00:15:54] Law and order DAs plea agreements and that sort of thing.

[00:15:59] It's to write the laws to give himself the advantage.

[00:16:03] Right.

[00:16:04] The quote elites.

[00:16:05] The positions of power.

[00:16:07] The influence.

[00:16:08] Or as Ayn Rand called it, the politics of pull.

[00:16:11] Right.

[00:16:11] How much pull do you have?

[00:16:15] And so when you pay a lot of money into campaign coffers.

[00:16:19] And you get a bunch of DAs elected that rip apart the fabric of a high trust society.

[00:16:27] You then get people clamoring for a restoration of law and order.

[00:16:30] Well, look at that.

[00:16:31] I just happen to know some people that could pass some laws that would help alleviate these problems.

[00:16:35] Which nobody could ever have expected.

[00:16:38] And.

[00:16:40] Now you're in.

[00:16:41] Right.

[00:16:41] Now you're part of the solution.

[00:16:45] And you get to now.

[00:16:47] Be part of that two tiered system.

[00:16:50] Which he already is.

[00:16:51] I mean, you've got a two tier system as it is.

[00:16:53] Right.

[00:16:53] The Democrat Party called the Elysium Party.

[00:16:55] You get the uber rich and you get the.

[00:16:57] The activists.

[00:16:59] Poor.

[00:17:00] That's who you have.

[00:17:01] That's what that party is now.

[00:17:04] And.

[00:17:05] I don't know if they can speak a language that will be attractive to anybody outside of that

[00:17:10] elite crowd.

[00:17:11] I think they're going to start.

[00:17:13] They're going to start bleeding.

[00:17:15] The lower end of their demographic in their in their base.

[00:17:18] They're going to have the activists.

[00:17:20] They're going to have the college educated.

[00:17:22] Right.

[00:17:22] Right.

[00:17:23] Okay.

[00:17:23] That's kind of redundant.

[00:17:24] Activists too.

[00:17:25] Right.

[00:17:25] So they're going to have the.

[00:17:26] They're really wealthy elites.

[00:17:28] The tastemakers.

[00:17:29] The trendsetters and such.

[00:17:31] Because they don't have to live.

[00:17:32] They don't have to.

[00:17:32] They're not riding the subways.

[00:17:35] Right.

[00:17:36] And then you get the Marxist activist crowd.

[00:17:38] So.

[00:17:40] He's in it.

[00:17:41] So.

[00:17:42] The purpose is to be in the lab when you make.

[00:17:47] The.

[00:17:48] The virus and the antidote.

[00:17:53] And then you can be the one to provide the antidote because that gives you the control.

[00:17:56] That's what it's about.

[00:17:57] All right.

[00:17:58] I hope you had a happy holiday season.

[00:18:01] But tell me if something like this happened at your house.

[00:18:03] Your family and friends are gathered around.

[00:18:05] Maybe y'all are in the living room.

[00:18:07] You're laughing.

[00:18:08] Swapping stories.

[00:18:09] Reminiscing.

[00:18:09] And then somebody says.

[00:18:11] Hey dad.

[00:18:11] Remember those old VHS tapes?

[00:18:14] Did you ever get them transferred?

[00:18:15] And then the room gets all quiet.

[00:18:17] All eyes are on dad who says.

[00:18:20] Oh you know.

[00:18:20] Well I've been meaning to.

[00:18:22] But I just haven't gotten around to it.

[00:18:23] Look.

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[00:19:00] And online at createavideo.com.

[00:19:03] Russ says,

[00:19:05] Pete, welcome back.

[00:19:06] You detailing your time off got me thinking.

[00:19:10] Winterbull comes back and tells us about the great time that he had with listeners on a cruise.

[00:19:15] And you come back and we hear about ripping your iTunes catalog again.

[00:19:21] Future promo idea for you.

[00:19:23] You need to organize some kind of a listener meetup or getaway.

[00:19:27] You could invite listeners to watch as you organize your sock drawer or something.

[00:19:32] There are no bad ideas under the cone of creativity.

[00:19:35] That is true.

[00:19:36] That is true.

[00:19:39] I like it.

[00:19:44] Well, I mean, they were always telling us, like, you need to welcome people into your life and show them behind-the-scenes stuff.

[00:19:50] All right.

[00:19:50] I'll do a video.

[00:19:51] Maybe I'll do a video.

[00:19:52] Maybe.

[00:19:53] I'll do a video on when I organize the sock drawer.

[00:19:57] It is about time for me to do that.

[00:20:02] Because I bought those dividers.

[00:20:04] Those things never work right.

[00:20:06] I take it back.

[00:20:07] I did buy one product that did work correctly.

[00:20:09] But it was only front to back.

[00:20:11] When you start getting into different dimensions, like if you're starting to go horizontal and vertical divisions, it's...

[00:20:18] That stuff never works.

[00:20:19] I don't feel like.

[00:20:23] And universal?

[00:20:24] Not.

[00:20:25] Not universal.

[00:20:27] Like, oh, this will fit any drawer.

[00:20:28] No, it won't.

[00:20:29] It did not.

[00:20:30] But you start putting different pressure points on the little dividers.

[00:20:38] So...

[00:20:39] This is how I stay in touch with the everyday person.

[00:20:44] Right?

[00:20:46] Did you have to do a bunch of iTunes ripping at some point, too?

[00:20:50] No.

[00:20:51] You probably spaced it out like a normal person would do.

[00:20:55] But I just put off all of this stuff.

[00:20:57] I put it off.

[00:20:58] I put it off because I have more important things to do, like Twitter.

[00:21:01] So I just put it off and put it off.

[00:21:03] And then I had...

[00:21:05] I wrote a to-do list.

[00:21:07] It was a full-page to-do list of all the things I had to get done.

[00:21:11] I put up a birdhouse.

[00:21:13] Don't tell the HOA.

[00:21:14] I put up a birdhouse.

[00:21:18] And I got it for Christmas.

[00:21:20] And so I was going to rehab a table.

[00:21:25] A table that had been painted over a bunch of times and stuff.

[00:21:27] And we bought it at one of those consignment...

[00:21:30] Is that what it's called?

[00:21:31] Consignment place?

[00:21:32] Where they got, like, the different little areas inside, like a warehouse.

[00:21:37] And people rent the booths and whatever.

[00:21:39] Anyway, we picked up one of these things.

[00:21:42] And it's a little table.

[00:21:43] It's got wheels on it.

[00:21:44] So it goes in the little laundry room.

[00:21:46] And so you can move it around and take it out if you needed to.

[00:21:49] Which we actually haven't ever needed to take it out.

[00:21:51] But whatever.

[00:21:51] So the idea was to paint it.

[00:21:54] But then I got the birdhouse.

[00:21:55] And it's not just any birdhouse.

[00:21:56] This thing's got a camera in it.

[00:21:59] So I can watch...

[00:22:02] When the birds make a nest in the birdhouse.

[00:22:05] Okay.

[00:22:06] If the birds make a nest, I'm not certain they're going to.

[00:22:10] I'm really not certain that they're going to.

[00:22:12] I don't...

[00:22:14] I don't...

[00:22:15] We'll see.

[00:22:16] I'll keep you posted.

[00:22:17] I keep looking at it.

[00:22:19] You know, open up the camera.

[00:22:21] It's got a little solar panel on it.

[00:22:23] So I don't have to recharge it all the time.

[00:22:25] It's a pretty...

[00:22:25] I mean, it's neat.

[00:22:26] It's a great idea.

[00:22:27] And I hope I get some birds that live in there.

[00:22:28] I'd love to be able to just, like, snoop on them.

[00:22:31] And then watch as some snake, like, goes and eats the eggs, I'm sure, at some point.

[00:22:36] But, uh...

[00:22:37] I mean, I'll be sad.

[00:22:39] Anyway.

[00:22:41] Um...

[00:22:42] So, yeah, maybe I'll shoot a video of the, uh...

[00:22:45] Of the installation of some shelves in the toilet room.

[00:22:48] Anyway.

[00:22:49] Let me get to a more important thing.

[00:22:52] The State Department has crafted plans to distribute staffers from the GEC.

[00:22:58] Do you remember the GEC?

[00:23:00] I know there's a lot of acronyms.

[00:23:02] GEC.

[00:23:03] It's the Global Engagement Center.

[00:23:06] It's where everybody goes before they propose to get married.

[00:23:11] And, no, it's...

[00:23:12] This is...

[00:23:14] This is the operation...

[00:23:16] I mentioned this during the, uh...

[00:23:18] The Cramnibus.

[00:23:19] Remember?

[00:23:20] When they put together the funding package,

[00:23:23] the continuing resolution,

[00:23:26] with the, you know, the deadline before Christmas.

[00:23:28] And one of the things, one of the provisions that was buried in that Cramnibus

[00:23:32] was the perpetuation of the GEC,

[00:23:37] the Global Engagement Center,

[00:23:39] which was a censorship tool.

[00:23:42] And it was housed inside the State Department.

[00:23:45] And they tried to, uh...

[00:23:48] To not let it sunset.

[00:23:51] Last month.

[00:23:54] So...

[00:23:55] The...

[00:23:56] When the Cramnibus failed,

[00:23:58] and then they did the stripped-down, clean CRs and all that,

[00:24:02] the GEC was one of the casualties.

[00:24:04] But don't worry, everybody.

[00:24:06] They have found a way.

[00:24:08] They have found a way to preserve the people that were in the GEC,

[00:24:13] and they've moved them around.

[00:24:15] They've done some shuffling.

[00:24:16] Okay?

[00:24:17] And, uh...

[00:24:18] Same with the money.

[00:24:20] 51 employees,

[00:24:22] a $29 million budget,

[00:24:26] and the GEC...

[00:24:29] Uh...

[00:24:29] Do-do-do-do...

[00:24:31] Where is it?

[00:24:32] The office that Republicans accused of working with groups aimed at

[00:24:36] demonetizing right-leaning media outlets in the U.S.

[00:24:40] They shut down last month upon lawmakers agreeing to no longer fund it.

[00:24:44] Well, because it was sunsetted.

[00:24:46] However, in a non-public letter to members of Congress on December 6th,

[00:24:51] the State Department outlined its plans to realign

[00:24:55] more than 50 GEC officials

[00:25:00] and tens of millions of dollars in funding to a hub.

[00:25:03] So, we are going from the GEC to a hub

[00:25:08] purporting to counter foreign interference.

[00:25:13] Oh, sorry.

[00:25:14] I should do this.

[00:25:17] Foreign interference.

[00:25:18] The Russians.

[00:25:19] Okay.

[00:25:20] The plans, which have not been reported on until now

[00:25:23] at the Washington Examiner by Gabe Kaminsky,

[00:25:25] will likely lead to investigations from Republicans

[00:25:28] into the State Department's handling of the GEC's closure.

[00:25:31] That's because, according to senior GOP staffers who reviewed them,

[00:25:35] they appear to indicate that the Biden administration

[00:25:38] is merely rebranding the GEC under a different name,

[00:25:43] forming a new body that could be poised to engage in work

[00:25:48] very similar to the work that landed the GEC in hot water

[00:25:54] over the last two years.

[00:25:56] Now, look.

[00:25:59] There is a perfectly logical reason

[00:26:03] why this just looks like a rebrand.

[00:26:06] Okay?

[00:26:09] Because it's a rebrand.

[00:26:10] Right.

[00:26:11] That's why it looks like that.

[00:26:12] All right.

[00:26:13] If you're listening to this show,

[00:26:14] you know I try to keep up with all sorts of current events.

[00:26:16] And I know you do, too.

[00:26:17] And you've probably heard me say,

[00:26:19] get your news from multiple sources.

[00:26:21] Why?

[00:26:22] Well, because it's how you detect media bias,

[00:26:25] which is why I've been so impressed with ground news.

[00:26:27] It's an app, and it's a website,

[00:26:30] and it combines news from around the world in one place

[00:26:33] so you can compare coverage and verify information.

[00:26:36] You can check it out at check.ground.news.peat.

[00:26:41] I put the link in the podcast description, too.

[00:26:43] I started using Ground News a few months ago

[00:26:46] and more recently chose to work with them as an affiliate

[00:26:49] because it lets me see clearly how stories get covered and by whom.

[00:26:53] The blind spot feature shows you which stories get ignored

[00:26:56] by the left and the right.

[00:26:58] See for yourself.

[00:26:59] Check.ground.news.peat.

[00:27:02] Subscribe through that link,

[00:27:04] and you'll get 15% off any subscription.

[00:27:06] I use the Vantage plan to get unlimited access to every feature.

[00:27:10] Your subscription then not only helps my podcast,

[00:27:13] but it also supports Ground News

[00:27:14] as they make the media landscape more transparent.

[00:27:17] Jan says,

[00:27:18] Guys, it isn't that we are not listening when you say,

[00:27:20] don't break anything while I'm gone.

[00:27:22] It's just that as guys, we automatically think,

[00:27:24] challenge accepted.

[00:27:25] That's fair.

[00:27:28] No, that's fair.

[00:27:30] Bill Nye, the science guy,

[00:27:31] has a degree in mechanical engineering,

[00:27:33] which means he is very valuable.

[00:27:34] If you need help assembling something,

[00:27:36] you got at IKEA.

[00:27:37] Anything else actually science-related,

[00:27:39] he is pretty useless.

[00:27:41] See, I knew he didn't have an...

[00:27:42] He wasn't like a climatologist or anything,

[00:27:46] but mechanical engineering degree.

[00:27:50] All right, so the Washington Examiner.

[00:27:53] Headline,

[00:27:54] State Department to Route GEC Funding to Hub.

[00:27:58] From the GEC to the Hub,

[00:28:00] the GEC, the Global Engagement Center,

[00:28:02] formed in 2016,

[00:28:05] the GEC claimed to only counter foreign disinformation,

[00:28:09] but it came under intense criticism

[00:28:12] for backing the Global Disinformation Index,

[00:28:17] or the GDI,

[00:28:19] and other groups

[00:28:22] that were pressuring advertisers

[00:28:25] to stop buying ads

[00:28:28] on media outlets in America

[00:28:30] that the left didn't like,

[00:28:34] and they said we're peddling disinformation

[00:28:37] and misinformation.

[00:28:39] Things that turned out to actually be true.

[00:28:42] In the congressional notification,

[00:28:44] the State Department identified

[00:28:46] the hub,

[00:28:48] this newly formed body,

[00:28:51] it is called the

[00:28:53] Counter Foreign Information

[00:28:57] Manipulation and Interference Hub.

[00:29:02] The C-F-I-M-I-H,

[00:29:06] or the C-F-I-M-I-H,

[00:29:07] as I like to call it.

[00:29:09] The hub will report to

[00:29:11] the State Department's

[00:29:13] Undersecretary,

[00:29:14] which is always a hilarious name,

[00:29:16] Undersecretary,

[00:29:17] I don't know why,

[00:29:18] it just reminds me of

[00:29:18] like underwear and underdog.

[00:29:21] Anyway,

[00:29:23] Undersecretary of State

[00:29:24] for Public Diplomacy.

[00:29:28] So,

[00:29:28] they got,

[00:29:29] so this,

[00:29:30] the state agency

[00:29:31] got defunded.

[00:29:33] Okay?

[00:29:34] State Department,

[00:29:35] GEC,

[00:29:36] gets defunded.

[00:29:37] They put,

[00:29:38] and this is why

[00:29:38] there should always be sunsets

[00:29:40] for all of these types of programs.

[00:29:42] If it's working,

[00:29:43] I'm just kidding,

[00:29:44] it's a government program.

[00:29:45] But like,

[00:29:46] if it was working,

[00:29:47] it was sufficiently

[00:29:49] not like being abused.

[00:29:52] Or it wasn't being abused a lot.

[00:29:54] Right?

[00:29:54] It was like it had a low abuse factor.

[00:29:56] Anyway,

[00:29:56] you could then

[00:29:58] have it automatically sunset.

[00:30:01] If it was doing a decent job,

[00:30:03] you could then say,

[00:30:04] okay,

[00:30:04] we're going to re-up it.

[00:30:05] But it takes

[00:30:07] an affirmative vote

[00:30:09] to re-up.

[00:30:11] That's the way

[00:30:12] I think

[00:30:13] all of the,

[00:30:13] all these programs need to be.

[00:30:15] You don't get to set stuff up

[00:30:16] and just have it last in perpetuity

[00:30:17] because that is also

[00:30:18] the natural tendency

[00:30:20] of all of these government programs.

[00:30:22] You create the program

[00:30:23] and it just never dies.

[00:30:25] It never goes away.

[00:30:26] This one

[00:30:27] got sunsetted,

[00:30:29] but,

[00:30:30] spoiler,

[00:30:31] it just now

[00:30:32] got reorganized.

[00:30:33] When they sunset the thing

[00:30:35] because it did

[00:30:36] abuse,

[00:30:37] they then just

[00:30:39] move the people around

[00:30:40] and reallocate the money

[00:30:42] and create

[00:30:44] another entity

[00:30:46] that is going to

[00:30:47] basically do the same thing.

[00:30:48] But it's only going to look

[00:30:49] at the foreign interference,

[00:30:50] everybody.

[00:30:50] No,

[00:30:52] no targeting

[00:30:53] of American conservatives.

[00:30:56] I mean,

[00:30:57] at least initially.

[00:30:58] According to one senior

[00:30:59] GOP aide,

[00:31:01] Geck's planned

[00:31:02] shift to the hub

[00:31:03] demonstrates

[00:31:04] that the federal government

[00:31:06] won't give up

[00:31:07] its stake

[00:31:07] in the domestic

[00:31:08] disinformation

[00:31:09] fighting industry

[00:31:10] without a fight.

[00:31:11] Quote,

[00:31:11] this is according to

[00:31:12] a senior GOP aide,

[00:31:14] Donald Trump

[00:31:14] and Marco Rubio

[00:31:15] are going to have to

[00:31:16] track every single

[00:31:17] office down to

[00:31:18] every single staffer

[00:31:20] if they want to

[00:31:20] end the weaponization

[00:31:22] of the federal government

[00:31:23] against conservatives.

[00:31:24] The State Department

[00:31:25] is filled

[00:31:26] with resistance

[00:31:27] Democrats

[00:31:28] who think they got

[00:31:29] through the first

[00:31:30] Trump administration

[00:31:31] and will get through

[00:31:32] the second

[00:31:32] the same way.

[00:31:34] Right.

[00:31:34] They are

[00:31:36] sand in the gears.

[00:31:37] They talked about

[00:31:38] this back in 2016,

[00:31:40] 2017

[00:31:40] when Trump won.

[00:31:42] They were,

[00:31:43] people inside the government

[00:31:44] were talking about,

[00:31:45] and they would talk

[00:31:46] to media outlets,

[00:31:47] I mean,

[00:31:47] all anonymously,

[00:31:48] of course,

[00:31:49] they posted about

[00:31:50] this stuff

[00:31:50] saying that

[00:31:51] they know how

[00:31:53] to jam up the works.

[00:31:55] They can grind

[00:31:56] all of this stuff

[00:31:57] down to a halt

[00:31:59] and they can outlast you

[00:32:00] because you're only there

[00:32:01] for four years.

[00:32:02] In Trump's case,

[00:32:03] that's a hard four years.

[00:32:05] Right.

[00:32:06] He's,

[00:32:06] he's gone in four.

[00:32:08] So all they need to do

[00:32:09] is slow stuff down,

[00:32:12] prevent new things

[00:32:13] from happening,

[00:32:14] and then Trump

[00:32:15] will be gone

[00:32:16] and they can

[00:32:17] resume their practice.

[00:32:21] Meanwhile,

[00:32:22] oh,

[00:32:23] hang on,

[00:32:23] let me,

[00:32:23] I skipped a paragraph.

[00:32:25] The source familiar

[00:32:25] with the matter

[00:32:26] said the planned hub

[00:32:28] would not have

[00:32:29] the grant-making power

[00:32:30] that GEC did.

[00:32:31] So they don't get

[00:32:32] to spread around

[00:32:33] the money

[00:32:33] to all of these,

[00:32:35] you know,

[00:32:36] left-wing non-profits

[00:32:37] that then organize

[00:32:39] the boycott campaigns

[00:32:40] and pressure campaigns

[00:32:41] against advertisers.

[00:32:42] And the point of that,

[00:32:44] obviously,

[00:32:44] is to starve

[00:32:46] conservative outlets

[00:32:47] of revenue

[00:32:48] so they fold.

[00:32:50] This is just shut-uppery

[00:32:52] in a different form.

[00:32:54] Once you see shut-uppery

[00:32:55] as the prevalent

[00:32:58] line of attack

[00:32:59] from the left,

[00:33:01] it explains

[00:33:04] so many things.

[00:33:05] You see it everywhere.

[00:33:07] It's just shut up.

[00:33:09] Andrew Klavan's

[00:33:10] famous

[00:33:13] episode

[00:33:13] that he did,

[00:33:14] I don't know,

[00:33:15] probably 20 years ago now

[00:33:16] on shut-uppery.

[00:33:18] They do not want

[00:33:20] the debate.

[00:33:21] They don't want

[00:33:22] a discussion.

[00:33:22] They just want you

[00:33:23] to shut up

[00:33:25] or preferably

[00:33:26] agree with them

[00:33:27] and back their play

[00:33:28] on everything.

[00:33:30] So they're not going

[00:33:31] to have grant-making power.

[00:33:33] At the same time,

[00:33:34] besides awarding grants

[00:33:35] to groups accused

[00:33:36] of censoring conservatives,

[00:33:37] the GEC was also involved

[00:33:39] with other initiatives

[00:33:39] that earned

[00:33:40] the ire of lawmakers

[00:33:42] concerned about

[00:33:43] the First Amendment

[00:33:43] and violations of it.

[00:33:45] Top GEC staffers

[00:33:47] have already resurfaced

[00:33:49] to work for the most

[00:33:50] high-ranking officials

[00:33:51] at the State Department,

[00:33:53] such as

[00:33:54] James P. Rubin.

[00:33:56] He is now

[00:33:58] a senior advisor

[00:33:59] to Blinken,

[00:34:00] the Secretary of State.

[00:34:01] Leah Bray,

[00:34:03] she was the former

[00:34:05] acting coordinator.

[00:34:05] She's now over

[00:34:07] at the,

[00:34:07] she's the chief of staff

[00:34:08] to Deputy Secretary

[00:34:09] of State,

[00:34:10] Kurt Campbell.

[00:34:11] Daniel Kimmage

[00:34:13] was the principal

[00:34:14] deputy coordinator

[00:34:15] for the GEC.

[00:34:16] He is now

[00:34:17] the undersecretary

[00:34:19] for public

[00:34:20] diplomacy's team.

[00:34:22] Given the evidence

[00:34:23] shows,

[00:34:24] the GEC has long

[00:34:24] ignored its

[00:34:25] congressional mandate

[00:34:26] to focus solely

[00:34:26] on foreign disinformation.

[00:34:28] Its continuation

[00:34:29] under a so-called hub

[00:34:30] is extremely troubling,

[00:34:32] said Margo Cleveland,

[00:34:33] an attorney for the

[00:34:35] new Civil Liberties Alliance.

[00:34:37] That legal nonprofit

[00:34:38] group is representing

[00:34:39] conservative media outlets

[00:34:41] like the Daily Wire

[00:34:42] and the Federalists,

[00:34:43] the Federalist.com,

[00:34:45] which joined the state

[00:34:46] of Texas

[00:34:47] in a lawsuit

[00:34:48] accusing GEC

[00:34:49] of facilitating,

[00:34:50] quote,

[00:34:51] one of the most

[00:34:51] egregious government

[00:34:52] operations to censor

[00:34:54] the American press

[00:34:54] in the history

[00:34:55] of the nation.

[00:34:56] All right,

[00:34:56] that'll do it

[00:34:57] for this episode.

[00:34:58] Thank you so much

[00:34:59] for listening.

[00:35:00] I could not do the show

[00:35:00] without your support

[00:35:01] and the support

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[00:35:03] that advertise

[00:35:03] on the podcast.

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[00:35:06] please support them too

[00:35:07] and tell them you heard it here.

[00:35:08] You can also become a patron

[00:35:09] at my Patreon page

[00:35:10] or go to

[00:35:12] thepetecalendershow.com.

[00:35:13] Again,

[00:35:13] thank you so much

[00:35:14] for listening

[00:35:15] and don't break anything

[00:35:16] while I'm gone.