Iran, Joe Kent, March Madness prediction

This week the podcast discusses the ongoing war in Iran, the underestimation of President Trump and the existentialism of Iran.

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Yay. This is OnlyDaz Podcast. I'm coming to you and recorded on a Friday, March 20th. We're gonna go over a few topics today, but the main theme of today's episode is gonna be the Middle East. Uh we've been covering the war in Iran extensively. We covered the Israel attack the Gaza extensively, and now it's gotten to the point where we're sending American troops into battle. And this is what the episode is gonna be about. So uh we'll begin with NATO. Uh President Donald Trump has slammed NATO allies over their lack of support for the US-Israel war on Iran as the Straight of Humas, Ricky, Hormuz. Hormuz remains effectively closed with no end to the conflict in sight. Uh Trump said that they're cowards and that we will remember. He put he posted this on his true social platform on Friday. So why did NATO say no? I think that's important. This seems to be one man's personal vendetta. Uh is wanting to take the oil, him wanting to be the president who you know rules with an iron fist. You know, you know, we we can't I can't harp on this enough personally that you know this guy's supposed to be the no new war as president. And we're have we we're sending troops. That's what I was afraid of. That's one thing I didn't want to do. And we're still you know, we talk about South Power. You know, money, you send money so you don't have to send troops, and now you're sending troops. Why are you sending troops? That's the question. Like, you know, when you start bombing uh a country, it it costs a lot of money, and then you got you're gonna come up to where you're gonna run out of money, so you got to come ask Congress. And this is or Connor can say has the power of the person's like, well, I don't know. So what do you do instead? Well, I can send troops over there. And we're now at a flash point where we have American troops being sent to a yet another war, and the war that Biden pulled us out of, and now we're going right back. So, Ricky, kind of what are your thoughts on Trump asking NATO for help, and NATO saying pretty much no?

SPEAKER_01 2:17

So the NATO agreement, Article 5, uh, I don't have it in front of me, but just very generally, it's basically a um an agreement to join forces if one nation is attacked, right? An attack on one is an attack on all. America is not hasn't been attacked. Um, and so that's why NATO forces aren't necessarily coming to quote unquote our aid. But with that being said, Trump's sending mixed signals. So this would be different if, say, Russia invaded or attacked Poland, right? Then under Article V, everybody is obligated to send troops and you know back them up, basically. This is different because America engaged in it, America began it. So kind of like you, you know, you started it kind of thing. And so when it comes to that type of action, the Allies uh they have the choice of whether or not to join forces. And Iran, to its credit, they did something very smart. And you know, credit where credit is due. This is increasingly uh an economic war. And so when I say that, I mean like money versus money. You we talk about sending money overseas, these bombs cost money, and you know, it cost us millions of dollars to shoot down a drone that cost Iran, you know, thousands of dollars. So, you know, we're talking about a deficit, uh, you know, difference there of an order of magnitude, and so it's very interesting to see that. But with that being said, I think I think you know Iran were was very strategic, more strategic than I think the administration was expecting them to be. They did close the Strait of Hormuz and they did so selectively. So, you know, imagine, you know, I think a couple years ago we saw um was it the Suez Canal get shut down because that that that boat kind of caddy cornered and and like you know it got fucking blocked it with its body, yeah. Exactly, and it affected everything, right? It's kind of like that, but it's a little bit wider, so for what I told. And because of technology nowadays, Iran doesn't have to put up a wall in the fucking in the river and say, no, no one's allowed. They can selectively allow certain ships to come through. And if the ships are flagged American or Israeli, then those aren't coming through, and or those are going to be attacked. All the other ones are being allowed to come through, like be like safe passage, so you know Chinese, um uh uh Indian things like that, uh Southeast Asia, so Japan and South Korea, all these other oil tankers are allowed to come and buy the oil, ship their oil from Iran, and America's upset because we I guess the administration didn't think about that. They said, well, if they're gonna close the Strait of Hermoose, they're gonna close it for everybody. That's not in their economic best interest, therefore they're not gonna close a straight. They didn't realize, well, they can just fucking filter it out. They could just say, you come in, like a bouncer at a club. You get in, you don't, you get in, you don't. And right now, the only ones that aren't allowed to use the uh the Strait of Hormous is America and Israel, and that's upsetting uh Trump. And it's very smart because what Israel or what Iran is basically doing is pinning us against our allies. Basically, the allies are saying, like, we don't want any part of this, and they don't have to because for them it's status quo. Now they're just gonna buy more oil from Russia, which isn't smart because that's gonna increase the um the amount of money that the Kremlin has in their war against Ukraine, but for the short term, it's very smart because I mean what else is Europe to do? Um so I think overall, I don't think that the current, I don't think Trump, I think Trump underestimated the Iranian strategy, and I think he he assumed it was gonna be over faster than what it is. But make no mistake, this war for Iran is existential. We killed their their supreme leader, but also their religious leader. So this isn't for them like something that is controversial. Yeah, sure, some people will be against it, some people won't, but for them, this is very real. Their backs against the wall, kind of like Ukraine. Like for Ukraine, this is all or nothing. They're not willing to give an inch. That's why the war keeps on going. America, we don't, we necessarily we don't really want this. Some some do, maybe, but I think generally it's a it's a more of a harder sale for Americans because what are we doing over there? Everything's getting more expensive. We bombed the school, what's going on? Like it's politically uh toxic and it's economically unviable. And Iran knows that. And so I I this isn't good for Trump, this isn't good for America, it's not good for the world. Um, and hats off to Iran, they're very fucking smart. Not to say that what they're doing is correct or or noble, but you know, from a military strategy standpoint, how do we not see this coming? Like if if this is a game of chess, they're fucking winning.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Yeah, and um, and then Ricky brings that up as a good point because it reminds me of when Jimmy Carter lost his re-election. Yep. And during the the hostage crisis during the Olympics, and they waited so basically he was out of office, then they didn't release the hostage. And that pretty much was the thing that cemented his his loss as a president. He wanted to take them home, but they paid politics. They legit played politics, they played American politics, and it's kind of the same thing. Uh Rand's playing politics, and good for them. Uh, because you know, if there's no if you can't fight the US militarily, but you maybe you can fight them politically, then you just have to out outlast them because just just Friday, the average price of gas rose to three dollars and ninety-one cents a gallon, up from two dollars and ninety-three cents a month ago.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

Really?

SPEAKER_00 7:56

So that you look at the economics of this war, it's causing prices. Like you look at the gas problems. I don't know if you guys remember when you go fill up, but I've always saw these Joe Biden stickers.

SPEAKER_01 8:07

Yep, that's what you're saying, I did that.

SPEAKER_00 8:09

I did that now. It's Trump stickers. They have to, I don't see, I haven't seen them.

SPEAKER_01 8:13

I've seen a couple on the internet, it's that these are true.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

Trump owns this. He caused this conflict, he's causing these um our gas prices to rise. I mean, Israel just stroke just struck uh a gas plant in Iran that Trump sold him not to, and so he's since backed off, but he did strike it. And it's just this instability in the region is creating havoc on our markets. And what's gonna happen now? They're gonna jack up the price of gas. And here at home, we're feeling the pressure.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

Uh about that before we get off the topic of gas. I've heard a couple counter-arguments, and I want to uh kind of explain why it's bullshit. And if anybody hears them and hears a better argument, please drop a comment, let us know. But one thing I've heard is well, this is good for America because it undermines Chinese oil supply. That's wrong because China only receives five percent of their oil from Iran, so yeah, you may take you may decrease their ability to receive oil not by much because five percent isn't a lot, but also too, they're letting Chinese ships come through with oil, so that kind of doesn't really hold water. Additionally, it's only gonna hurt America because very generally what's gonna end up happening is America gets less oil. Okay, we got plenty of reserves. I've heard that argument, we got plenty in the bank kind of thing, right? With oil, okay. Also, too, very correct. But what we have is crude and we don't have the ability to refine it. So, what that means is we are going to have to um try to refine this oil elsewhere because we we can refine it here, but we can't refine that much, so it's not as easy as like, well, we have enough. Um, additionally, by limiting the supply by any extent, that's gonna increase the demand, right? Supply and demand, you decrease the supply and the demand stays the same, the prices are gonna go up. So, regardless of who is buying the oil, just by decreasing the amount, that's a good thing for Iran, and that is a bad thing for America because we're the only country that's kind of not allowed to play, basically. So it's a very uh it's a very delicate balance. And again, I don't I think Trump was just riding high on the Venezuela thing, right? He not to say that Venezuela is a success, but the mission itself was successful, right? He went in, he got out, it's over. Now, obviously, nothing in in Venezuela has changed, like there's been no regime change, but I think he just kind of got like on this like, oh shit I can do whatever the fuck I want. And Joe Kent resigned. And for those of you that don't know, Joe Kent was the director of uh counterterrorism, and so basically he's like the number two to Tulsi Gabbard. He he's a Senate confirmed cabinet member. Okay, he served with the 75th Range Regiment and he was a Green Beret, and he has like a dozen deployments overseas, combat deployments, right? So he is an actual soldier, like a badass, right? His wife died in the war on terror, so he knows what war is in terms of what to fight and what loss means. All that to say, you have a very respected, decorated veteran who is serving in an intelligence capacity with the Department of Counterterrorism. He resigns and he sends Trump a scathing letter. He doesn't talk shit to Trump saying he's an idiot, but what he says is Trump, you made a mistake. This it Iran is not an imminent threat, and you are being lied to by Israeli interests. Like he puts it out there very clear, and he resigns in protest, saying, I cannot, in good conscience, continue uh with this administration on their on their in um like their inviable war. So this is all very bad for Trump, very good for Iran, and very good for Israel, because Israel got the green light to just do whatever the fuck it wants in the Middle East, but the only ones that are losing are Americans.

SPEAKER_00 12:02

And I'm just gonna read you part of that, his letter he posted, uh Kent, that is I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran pays posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby. Until this week, Kent served as the director of the National Counter-terrorism center, the U.S. agency responsible for coordinating and analyzing terrorism intelligence. The resignation marks the highest profile rebuke yet of the war effort from within the Trump administration. Who is Joe Kent? Kent's 45, he's a former political candidate who has faced scrutiny over past connections to far-right activists. He's a former soldier with the United States Armed Army Special Forces, who's completed 11 combat deployments, including tours during the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Uh he's been his first wife, Shannon Kent, is uh was a U.S. Navy cryptologic technician who was cured in Syria in 2019 by a suicide bombing. Uh, since leaving the military, Kim worked as a paramilitary officer for the CIA before launching a political career. And twice he's campaigned as a Republican to represent southwestern Washington State in the U.S. Congress. Uh, this just goes to show that this isn't a Democrat. This is a hardcore Republican in the Republican circles of the Magafar right. And he himself had said this that it's like Ricky was saying, this was Benjamin Netanyahu's war. He wanted an excuse to attack. And Trump pulled the trigger, followed his ally. And I think part of that is maybe misplaced because I think that's part of why Harris lost the campaign. She didn't want to condemn Israel and its indiscriminate bombing of Gaza. And why people didn't like that. Now Trump is beating into Benjamin Netanyahu and just okay, yeah, let's let's do it. Let's just pull the trigger. And now we have 5,000 troops in the region, 5,000 American U.S. troops. I don't know how that's known new wars. I think that flies in the face of it. But more than that, I mean, you have the press asking tough questions. And a federal judge on Friday voided various parts of a restrictive press policy rolled out by defense secretary Pete Heggs last year, ruling from senior U.S. district judge Paul Friedman, who said, no, you can't block the press. This administration has done more than any previous administration in the modern era. And just no, not calling on CNN for one, but calling them, you know, fake news, not answering questions from you know good reporters who are doing their jobs, just want to take the softball questions. And you know, we should we should want a free and independent press. You know, we've been we've been harping on that because there's a lot of a lot of stories that get out that we don't know about. And it wasn't for the the press, the free press, then we would have never known about it. It would literally like the Pentagon Papers. You know, we were watching how that stuff got leaked. We didn't know about it, all the bad things America was doing. So this goes to show that this administration wants to roll with an iron fist and keep the press out, and that's one of the fundamental building blocks of American democracy.

SPEAKER_01 15:16

Yeah, so for Pete Heggseth, um I also think that he probably does didn't was unaware of how much of a of a threat Iran was. And there's a difference between it being a threat and it being an imminent threat, and it being an imminent nuclear threat. Um, Benjamin Net Netanyahu has been saying Iran is on the verge of getting nuclear weapons for 40 years, right? He's a doomer. He's saying, hey man, they're they're right there, they're gonna get it, they're gonna get it. Okay, he's been saying that for 40 years and it hasn't happened. So, like at some point, you know, you gotta call a spade a spade and say you're Crying Wolf. Um, but here he is again saying the exact same shit. And you know, it's interesting because why now, why this president? Um and I, you know, no one has the answer to that. It time will tell, but from the outside looking in, it seems as though Israel was in a um like in a now or nothing kind of mode where they're like, if we don't do it now with Trump, we're never gonna get this chance again. Because for the first time in my life that I can remember, the support for Israel as an ally has really uh started to be met with resistance. Uh Charlie Kirk started sounding the alarm. Some people say that's what, you know, maybe that's what contributed to his death, his assassination. We don't know. Um, but you know, now there's a lot of vocalization about the impact of APAC as a lobby on American politicians, and a lot of people aren't happy with that. Marjorie Taylor Green specifically came out saying, hey, I'm MAGA as fuck, but what's going on right now is not America first, it's Israel first. Very important. Same thing with Joe Kent. He's pretty fucking Republican, he's very MAGA. Um, but now you know he took the curve, and I do think it's brave the steps he took politically, you know, because now they're fucking investigating him. What the fuck? Like, this is a weaponization of the Department of Justice. The FBI is starting to investigate Joe Kent for claiming that he has been leaking uh state secrets. So, like, that's standard for this administration. If you don't get in lockstep, then you will not only be condemned politically, we're gonna go after you with the Department of Justice. And so it's fucking crazy, but that's where we're at. Good on Joe Kent. And I think now more than ever, you really can't hide stuff. So the fact that this is happening, no one's surprised, and it's all kind of in your face. Like I've said it before, like they're pissing on us without having to keep the decency of calling it rain. So we know it's happening, um, and we're smart enough to be able to connect the dots, and I think it's just important for everybody to pay attention and say, like, what are we doing over there? We don't stand to gain anything, and let's just pretend. And and I'm not even gonna say pretend, assuming it's true that Iran posed a threat, okay, fair. Why not? You have a Republican Congress, why not take it for a debate and have war formally declared if you're if our reasons are so righteous, if our reasons are so credible and we are relying on good intelligence, why does it take the president circumventing the Article I powers vested in Congress to declare war and to go about it through Emergency War Powers Act that is like a stretch? Like I don't understand that. Or is it that you don't want to do that because you know this war doesn't hold water? You can't have it both ways, you can't have it be so justified that we need to act, and also, well, we can't we can't um you know risk Congress not voting for it. Well, then it must not be fucking important if you can't get your own party in Congress and the Senate, by the way, to support it. So let's not forget that fucking Republicans have the control of both houses. So if this war was justified, ostensibly that would be the route to go.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

And we just want you guys to make your own decision, make your own, do your own research to kind of make you know who's best for the world leading the party, because we see with the Republican in the party, this is what we're going to. Now, our next topic uh is a little more somber moat. Uh, Chuck Norris has died at 86. Uh, he died in Hawaii. He was rushed to the hospital yesterday where he passed away. Uh, I grew up watching Chuck Norris as a Texas Ranger. Uh, that's how I grew him up. I had to have cable, but that show was on, and I thought he was a pretty good actor. I liked his mushroom, you know, his martial arts status, all the favorite Chuck Norris jokes. I know you have a lot, Ricky. Um, and just for me, you know, he's a Texas guy. He had the Seafood water here in town, here in Texas. It was good water. Um, it's kind of a staple. I think he lived near Navasota, which is right down the road from me.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

Yeah, Navasota, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:38

Yeah. So um Chuck Norris, Ricky, what are you kind of thoughts of Chuck Norris?

SPEAKER_01 19:43

So my first um like introduction to him was through the movie, uh, the Bruce Lee movie, The Way of the Dragon, which is where you know Bruce Lee's the action hero and he's fighting everybody, and at the very end, you have this other person that shows up and it's Chuck Norris and he's like a badass and he's killing everybody, and then it's just like a really awesome martial arts. I remember re-watching that so many times because this is back like in the VHS days, you know? And so, and my dad used to like Bruce Lee, and my brothers all like Bruce Lee, and so that's that was like a hero of ours growing up, and so we would watch that over and over again. That's that was my introduction, and then of course, as I grew up, I got to see uh, like you said, the Chuck Norris jokes, all the cameos in Dodgeball was like my favorite one, where at the very end he just gives a thumbs up, and then Vince Falls, like, Thank you, Chuck Norris. Like, it's just funny, and so yeah, you know, the the the jokes, and then in of course, in the uh the movie The Expendables, right? He comes in, he does a cameo there, and everybody starts dropping the jokes. Um, and so yeah, it's the end of an era, and uh I did see a little bit of noise online claiming that we don't, you know, he was uh super right wing and racist or whatever. Like, come on, guys, like maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. I don't give a fuck. Like everybody does and says some crazy shit sometimes. Like overall, I he's never done anything to me, you know. Like, I've never seen or heard anything outside of what the internet may drag up.

SPEAKER_00 21:03

Yeah, and I think that's a good point. I guess you mentioned that I should bring up uh Cesar Chavez. There's been those are sexual harassment claims made against him, and because of that, there's been a big fallout. They're covering up his statue, they're starting to rename streets that were named after him. And a lot of people didn't speak because this man was a position of power and they didn't want to hurt the movement. And so, but that doesn't give you carpe blanche to do whatever the hell you want and take advantage of people and sexually assault, you know, kids, little girls. That's that's sickening. And this is now just coming out years after his death. So uh, you know, it's never okay, no matter what status you have in the community, it's never okay to do these things. And uh, I think the sooner those things get out, the better. You shouldn't wait for whatever reasons, like whatever the they're trying to push something nice. If if they themselves aren't, you know, holding up to their own standards, and it's not okay. I mean. What you do in the dark will come to light. And you should know live your life right. But it it that brings up a good topic about that. You know, kind of what are your thoughts about Cesar Chavez and allegations of essays?

SPEAKER_01 22:11

Same thing. When I heard it, I was like, shit, dude, like, of course. Like, I don't know. You know, I think people are bad and good. And more than anything, people are complicated. And I know the general public doesn't like that. The general public wants to believe that people are very simple. Um, for example, they want to believe that Trump is this evil maniac. He probably is for sure, but does that mean he's never had any moments of niceness? No. You know, you you if you follow him long enough, he's probably gonna stand over, like bend over and like pick up a puppy and pet it and send it on its way, you know. Um, see no one would shoot it, but that's yeah, you know, Mundaru, you know, uh Gandhi is another good example. I remember um in one of my first years in the army, we were having some weird discussions out in the field, and my buddy talks about Gandhi and how he was like a super rapey kind of guy. And I never looked into it, but it wouldn't surprise me. You know, people are complicated, and uh, you know, it's easy to put people in boxes, but at the end of the day, you know, it's I think, and again, I think this is why it's important not to deify anybody. What do I mean by that deify? Like, not to put them on a pedestal and to put them in the status of like like they're a god, they're just people, right? So just yeah, Chuck Norris was just a person, awesome, probably bad sometimes for sure, you know, probably a dick to some people, probably really nice to other people, you know what I mean? Like, that's just what it is, just like me and you, just like anybody listening, we're all very complicated people because he life is messy and that's okay. Um, it does make things a little bit uncomfortable, but it doesn't mean you have to love this person unconditionally. You don't know him, I don't know him. Doesn't mean we can't be a fan.

SPEAKER_00 23:46

And it's a funny story about Gandhi. You know, me and Ricky met each other.

SPEAKER_01 23:51

Whoa, wait, whoa, what's going on? What are we talking about?

SPEAKER_00 23:53

English class. Uh, we were reading the Othello, and then we were talking, and then after the class was over, I was like, I gotta meet this guy. This guy's cool. We're he was talking about an eye for an eye, and I said, you know, an eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind. And uh it just puts some, you know, put things in perspective. But our last topic is gonna be March Madness. Uh right now, Texas AM is gonna host or gonna play against Houston tomorrow. Um, that's gonna be a good game. Another good game tomorrow is gonna be Vanderbilt versus Nebraska, Duke versus TCU, Texas versus Gonzaga. That's actually gonna be a really good one. That's one I'm looking forward to watching. Uh Texas beat BYU, uh, who was ranked at number six. But Texas AM also beat I think St. Mary's.

SPEAKER_01 24:45

And I think they were like there were seven or seventeen or something.

SPEAKER_00 24:49

Yeah, there were seven. They were ranked seven. And so, but AM was ranked uh pretty pretty high up early on, and then they lost to get games and they corrected that. But those are two uh teams, those are a few games I'm looking forward to. But Ricky, right here, right now, who do you have winning it all?

SPEAKER_01 25:05

All uh uh I haven't kept up, so whoever number four, I'm just gonna pick a random number number four. Whoever ranked as number four, that's who's gonna win it all.

SPEAKER_00 25:13

You're gonna get Argus, so I'm gonna go with number three, and that's Gonzaga.

SPEAKER_01 25:17

All right, number four is Kansas, so that's who I got. And you're going Gonzaga?

SPEAKER_00 25:20

I'm going Gonzaga.

SPEAKER_01 25:22

All right, sounds good. All right, boys.

SPEAKER_00 25:23

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