Virginia Dems Stand by Jay Jones Despite Murderous Texts, Trump Pressures Netanyahu Toward Peace, An

And we're live. Welcome back to the LOOPcast. It's Tom, Erika, and Josh. The LOOPcast brought to you by The Loop, of course, America's favorite morning newsletter if you're Catholic. Go sign up. The beauty of this show is that me, producer, typically I put everything together. I am often surprised on this show. Josh, you are coming to us from another foreign country. Yes.

I didn't know about it until basically this morning. So, Josh, where... We knew about this two minutes ago. Suave, you know what I'm saying? You look a little tan. You look sun-kissed, maybe. Where are you coming in from today, Josh? I'm coming to you just off the Camino in Spain. What town am I even in? Where am I? I got a puzzle with a map. I literally could look at this. Ah, yes.

My vision is not so good. Josh will just disappear. I'm just west of Leon. And his commitment to this podcast is unquestionable at this point. Most people, when they go to a foreign country, they're like, ah, maybe I'll miss the podcast. Doesn't matter. Josh is calculating the time zone. He's got to get in his thoughts. We need him. So, Josh, why are you in Spain? I don't even know. What are you doing there? So, this has been a lovely experience.

You know, there are people that come to Spain totally to vacation because it is wonderful weather. You know, people in Europe love to go to the beaches in Spain, usually in South Spain, obviously, and then people love to just enjoy it. So, there are a lot of people that come to...

Spain, for pure resort reasons, and then there are people who come as pilgrims, and it is the first, you know, the European Union, when they decided they wanted to recognize wonderful, like, cultural sites throughout Europe. This is number one on their list. It is called the Way of St. James, or the Camino de Santiago. The city of Santiago is in northwestern Spain, where the Apostle James is buried. And I will get to see that in a few days here. I'm here all week, but all these different places will point to it.

So, I met a guy, a group of five people. They started in France, and he's like, yeah, my friend, he started in Geneva. I'm like, what? And people just keep walking and walking, and there's many different routes. You can start from Barcelona, you can start from Madrid, you can start from Portugal. Portugal, yeah. But the French way, which is the way I am going right now, is the most popular, because obviously people are coming down from Europe. I am not actually watching a ton.

I am not walking a ton of it. I only got about 5 to 10K so far, but what I am doing is I am going to see all the ancillary sites. So, I have just been blessed. I got to see these. I mean, every little town, tiny little towns on the Camino will have churches that are bigger than. Then you would find in New Haven, but then if you actually get a big city, these cathedrals are enormous, and so I, of course, love seeing the cathedral in Burgas, which had the...

So, I mean, this church was amazing, but like right at the, you know how the churches are built like a cross style, a lot of them, someone who's more smart than I am in terms of the layout, well, right in the middle of the cross is the grave of El Cid. The great Christian warrior. Oh, cool.

So, of course, they took a photo of that. Well, Sid, Charlton Heston. So, Josh, are you working on your Spanish? Because, well, Joe Sala, Fiji, Brian Birch, Vatican, Spain? Potential ambassadorship coming up? Now, hold on a second. This year, I've been to Italy. I've been to Poland. Josh, we're wild. And now Spain. Why can't I be ambassador to the European Union? Yeah.

You're making a compelling point. You're working your way around. I mean, I'm just imagining all of these people, you know, like the Spanish people, just to take in Josh. Like, towering American, basically, from the UP. I'm a foot taller than everybody. He's a walking Viking. It is not unlike the reaction the Spaniards had when the Viking longships landed on the northern.

But, I tell you, I did feel like I was in Valhalla for lunch today. They brought a dish, and it was full of all sorts of different meats, and I'm like, aye. You and Cass can tell. Yeah. It was great. Okay. So, but before we get into today's show, going today, of course, Erika, what are we going to do? I mean, it's cool. I'm here. I just, Wednesday, Friday, guys, don't count on me. That's all. Okay. We lucked out. We lucked out today, and you know what else is happening today?

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That is nazareth-organics.com, code LOOPcast. Thank you. LOOPcast says thank you. Yes. Thank you, Nazareth. So, Josh, while you're gallivanting the world, enjoying the nice sunshine, are you familiar with what's going on in Virginia? Oh, yes. Okay. We have the internet here, too. Josh is still focused on the domestic front. Boy, do I have something to set up here. I have it affectionately titled, Virginia is not for lovers currently. Okay. So, Jay Jones.

Jay Jones is the Democratic nominee for Virginia Attorney General, and he's currently in a bit of a scandal right now after texts were revealed, shockingly violent texts, to not just like a random person, to a former state legislative colleague, Kerry Coyner. And the texts were back in August 8th, 2022, after there were unified eulogizing for a recently deceased former state legislator, Joe Johnson Jr. He was a moderate Democrat with a long tenure in Virginia politics. Everyone was coming together. You know, saying nice things, you know, we're all in the same business, whether or not you disagree, whatever.

And then Republican legislators like House Speaker Todd Gilbert have begun making public statements honoring Johnson's memory and political legacy, and some of those statements were making the rounds in some state legislative group chats. Again, this is a Republican saying, hey, other side of the aisle, but really appreciate a contribution. It's kind of a nice unifying moment. And around 8 a.m., this is Jones, who, again, he's running for the top.

lawyer position in the state of Virginia right now. He was texting his feelings with Republican House Delegate Kerry Coyner, as I mentioned, and I'm going to show the text thread. I feel like that's the best way to do it. I almost cannot even believe. This is from back in 2022, right? Yeah, three years ago. Back in 2022, three years ago. So I'm going to go through the text here.

This is what he was thinking at the time. So, he texts the wrong person. Sorry, Charlie, no worries. Talking about Joe Johnson, a D, but basically an R. Leaked everything to your caucus. It's why Gilbert gave him such a glowing tribute. I knew what you were talking about. Served with my dad, who had nice words with a little choice sprinkled in. I didn't look at that. I just saw a guy who died and assumed you'd have some words. He was a D.

They say nice things about everyone, LOL. If those guys die before me, I will go to their funerals to piss on their graves. Sorry for the vulgar language, but it's going to get bad. Send them out awash in something. Jay Jones. That's from the other person. Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, Hitler, and Pol Pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head. Spoiler, put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know, and he receives both bullets every time. And this is, again, this is Jay Jones.

He's running for the top attorney position in Virginia. Texting about a colleague, so, and then the person texts back, Jay, please stop, lol, okay, okay, from the other person. It really bothers me when you talk about hurting people or wishing death on them, and then she texts back, you weren't simply asking questions, and you know what? I genuinely was. I wasn't attacking you. I was trying to understand your logic. This came after Jay Jones called the representative and doubled down on the statements again and tried to press, being like, I want hypothetical examples, and so the text chain picks back up after that call.

So then, you weren't trying to understand, you were talking about hoping Jennifer Gilbert's children would die. Yes, I've told you this before, only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy. This is a picture of the kids that he's talking about. This is Todd Gilbert's kids. They're just young boys at the time of these text messages. This is his wife right here. Really, really, really bad. And then more text. There isn't, I point blank asked you more than three times, and you dug in, and you meant it.

I honestly am questioning a lot today. And then Jay Jones texts back. I mean, do I think Todd and Jennifer are evil, and that they're breeding little fascists? Yes. This is instructive. This is instructive. It's, you know, we're not Republicans, we're not conservatives, we're fascists. That's what they're saying. They're calling everyone who is not a liberal, everyone who's not a progressive, everyone who's not a Democrat, is a fascist. Why that label? Because you call someone a fascist, and you're allowed to kill them.

You're allowed to use violence to end their life, to extinguish their voice. That's why they call them fascists. Breeding little fascists? You refer to like a three or four-year-old kid as a fascist. Oh, well, they're going to obviously grow up to be fascists because their parents are fascists.

They just throw these names around, and it's like they are speaking violence. And then you hear all these people talk about bipartisanship, like Chuck Schumer and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It's like, well, you know, you guys have been advocating for violence for so long. Chuck Schumer was talking about...

You want me to, you want to hold off on that? So, Josh, you know, you would think, so just, you know, casual observer here, I see these texts, not great. This also isn't to, like, a private individual, like, this is to a colleague, like, I don't know what else you would expect. That's my thing. When they're talking about someone they just buried. Yes. Right. Well, buried, but then the family of a Republican. This is an actual alive person, still alive, Todd Gilbert is still alive, and his kids are talking about it.

Yes, yes. You know, pain. So, okay, you would think. This guy's running for Virginia, top lawyer, on the same ticket as someone that's already kind of had a tough time, Abigail Spanberger. She's a congressman. She's running for governor. She's considered the favorite, for sure. Considered the favorite. I'm going to get into that dynamics later, but you would think. Like, they would drop this guy, right? Like, especially after the Charlie Kirk stuff, they would say, this is a bridge too far. This is an easy call to make, right?

Easy. Yes, easy call to make. They could swap him out, put someone else in there, and no one would care. Not the case. In 10 minutes, they'd forget about it. Not the case. Okay, so I have the response from Abigail Spanberger herself.

She condemned Jones' remarks, and she said that she confronted him about them, but has not publicly called for him to leave the race. And then also, the lieutenant governor, Gisela Hashimi, similarly condemned the language while standing with Jones. Some local and state Democrats have expressed concern and urged accountability, but none have formally rescinded support or demanded a forced exit. To the contrary, some Democrats have doubled down on their support from Jones. Now, this is my favorite statement. Virginia Beach Democrats issued a statement.

A full support for Jones writing, quote, recent press may have spotlighted past mistakes. We say, let those without sin cast the first stone. Jay Jones has taken responsibility, apologized, and shown he is committed to serving with integrity and accountability that his public record already shows. Virginians deserve a leader who learns, grows, and stands for everyday people, and Jay is that leader. Tom, Tom, let it sit for a little bit. Yeah, let it sit. Maybe I'm in the old country. When Democrats quote scripture, let it air a little bit.

It's your favorite meme, Tom. I have nothing but contempt for you and your backwards religious beliefs, but if I mention Jesus, then you know. Here is the current Speaker of the House in Virginia from a church pulpit on Sunday. So, we need to understand something.

We have to be mature in our thinking and how we vote. We can't get distracted because they want us to get distracted by the text message here or something else. Stay focused. Don't get distracted by those text messages. By a text message? We have to be mature?

That's like saying Anthony Weiner, a text message, whatever. It's a text message. The content kind of matters. It does. It's a tie. Sorry, Erika, I won't give you a chance here. No, there's really nothing more to say. I mean, this is a clear-cut case of this was an opportunity for the Democrats to be the grown-ups in the rooms and to demonstrate that they are, you know, the moderate ones.

I mean, what are they always saying about Trump? That he's, like, irascible and unpredictable, and he's just throwing out tweets and blah, blah, blah. His rhetoric. His rhetoric is so hateful, and this was their chance. This was an easy, and it's an AG race. Like, nationally speaking, nobody cares. Like, just tell the guy to go pack it in and find someone else who's never threatened death on a three-year-old boy. You've got to have someone on the backup team. Virginia's pretty blue.

Maybe. Maybe they have someone else. I would think so. One would think so. And yet, they're dating. Why can't they, Erika? Why can't they? Well, because their entire ticket is hate Trump, hate Trump, hate Trump. No. No? Okay. What do you got to say for this thing, Josh? Well, tell me the answer, Josh.

Their voters, their Democratic voters would be absolutely angry if they removed Jones for this because privately, they all think it. Democratic voters, a majority of Democratic voters think the same thing, have the same kind of violent thoughts. They all just wish that Trump had not moved his head at the last second and been murdered. They do think this. This is the common, the polling is undisputed.

You look at conservatives, is violence ever justified? And like, 88% are like, no. And that's like, 12% is like, well, maybe. Democrats, it's like, a majority are like, yeah, totally, it's justified. Of course, it's justified. So, they have these things. The left, the progressive left, I think we have to understand the psychology of things. The left thought they had us dead to rights. They thought they had the punch in that, you know, like.

They had Obama. Everything was going to be great, and then Hillary is going to get in there, and then who is this, like, buffoon Trump? Okay, it was a fluke, and that made them mad and annoying, but then 2020, ah, things got back to normal. Trump was put away, and then what happened? High fever of liberalism. I mean, the progressive left went so bananas during all the four years of Biden. Biden, who got elected as the... As a moderate uncle, he was going to bring civility back to the White House.

Dude, he ran like a left winger from California. I mean, he was crazy. And the left thought, we don't have to worry about these conservatives anymore. We don't have to worry. Trump is over. It's all done. And so, when 2024 happened, he survived that bullet, and then he got reelected.

The left kind of snapped. Yeah. I really think it's like a psychosis. These people, and I would say they need to get therapy. Well, of course, I don't think therapy is actually really good for the most part, but these people are all on therapy. All these women are on Xanax or whatever else. Yeah, Josh, I'll stop you there. I don't think every Democrat. I think, unfortunately, what has been revealed, especially in the wake of Charlie Kirk, especially in the wake of the Trump assassination, is that there are many very outspoken people that are 100% comfortable with that.

I mean, we see it. There is video evidence of it. There are Facebook messages. There are texts. It is out there. I do not think all Democrats are. Of course, they are forced into it. They are all. A majority. Like a tough dichotomy.

Here is my thing on this Virginia race, right? Because this is really a race that Spanberger has run. Basically, just to be anti-Trump. And by all metrics, that's kind of a smart play. Like, you're out of power. Very smart. Very smart play to avoid controversial issues. And she's had this forced, right, she has this forced honor with this Jay Jones text thing getting revealed. She's had it forced on her by the Richard Cox situation, which is the man that claims to be a woman that goes into YMCA restrooms and has child porn on his phone and has the schedules of the kids swimming.

And she has fumbled over answers to that. I mean, she, this candidate really not prepared for this. Now, I will say, I think this really bothers independents. I think there's been plenty of independents that have come out, especially after Charlie Kirkman, like, I'm really disturbed that someone was assassinated for their political beliefs regardless of whether they were democrat or republican i i count myself in that same situation like i wouldn't i wouldn't wish death on a democrat i wouldn't wish death on anyone for their political views so i think this actually really does i'd have to explain that to saint peter exactly but that's why like i was looking at the polling on virginia because this is seen as kind of a bellwether it's the first election after the presidential election and i see like average poll lead you Abigail Spanberger has a plus 9, plus 10.

Lieutenant Governor has a plus 11. Attorney General Jay Jones right now has a D plus 7. So, if he does not get dropped, I think this definitely hurts him, no question, and I am seeing D projected to pick up four to six seats.

Of the three races, the Attorney General was always going to be the closest because, again, a lot of voters. You know, we'll vote Democrat up and down the line all the way. White, liberal women, you know, a lot of black voters, and there's a lot of conservatives that vote straight. Same with Republicans, yeah. I'm not saying, I'm not telling you what, who, and.

Even of the independents, there are independents who lean liberal, and there are independents who lean conservative. And there are some people who split tickets. I mean, people who don't, how could this happen? Trust me, I look at the numbers. It happens a lot. And if 7% split their tickets, it might make a difference in Virginia. Ultimately, I think Spanberger will probably still get elected. Yes, I think she's still the heavy favorite to win. But because of the scandal, it couldn't have, for Republicans, it's, you know, of all the races, it's the one race where they had probably the best chance of success anyway.

Jason Mayer has been phenomenal as Attorney General. I've been rooting for him big time. Of course, I like Winsome Sears. I think she needs the campaign harder. She's just taking a little too, you know. Easy, but it could be the kind of thing where people will break the other way, and they see this Jay Jones on the ticket, and they are like, maybe they do not vote for the Republican, but they may just leave that blank, because they are like, I do not want to vote for a guy who says this kind of stuff.

And that might be just enough that the Republican Attorney General gets reelected in a squeaker. Right. But overall, you're right. This is the first election after a presidency. I thought Virginia does their governor's race, and usually, it's that kind of a bellwether, but you have to remember, in the last 25, 30 years, just the sheer size of the federal government continues to expand so big, and there's so many federal employees now that live in Northern Virginia. Alexandria, Arlington, right. Virginia used to be a very conservative state, and then it became pretty darn blue.

Glenn Youngkin was the first Republican to win. Governor since 2009. So it had been what had been had been a while. So, you know, can win some Sears, the Republican governor? Can it can she win still? Of course she can. There's still time. There's things got to break her way. And it was I was surprised to see NBC News cover this story in a way that was, you know, like, oh, wow, like you actually are criticizing someone who wishes death on their MSNBC.

There's a clip from MSNBC of someone coming on like a very liberal commentator and be like, yeah, it's time to drop. I think it's smart for them, you know, of course, I'm so cynical. Yeah. I think it's smart for NBC to say it because they're like, oh, it's a row office and a state, who cares? So then they can say, oh, well, we attack people when they do things wrong. Good, whatever. Let you be cornered into virtue. This is a reprehensible.

So, Mr. Cynical, let's get you on record. Do you think he drops out of the race? No. Oh, no. Oh, he is going all the way. I mean, he could drop out. I just do not think it will happen. I think his voters will be very upset. It is also, I mean, you know, it is harder because the top of the ticket is a white woman, and he is a black guy, and, you know, are racial politics going to play into the fact?

I mean, maybe. Like, he would have to do it on his own, and he would have to get some billionaire to give him like a cushy. You know, a parachute or something like that. If the numbers continue to deteriorate, though, the decision will ultimately be made for him. You know, I just, I don't know if it'll happen. We'll see.

Okay. Thank you, cynical Josh from Spain. Welcome to the domestic front. Always appreciate your perspective. Erika, before we get into your section, home title lock. You got it. So, did you know that American homeowners have over $32 trillion in equity, and criminals are targeting it with a growing scam the FBI calls house stealing? Scammers can transfer your title out of your name using a one-page document they file at the county, then they can take out loans against it or even sell it behind your back.

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And make sure you check out the million-dollar triple lock protection details when you get there. Click the link below or right over there in the chat. Promo code LOOP60. Thank you, Home Title Lock. Excellent. So, Erika, I'm looking for an update on the peace talks in the Middle East, specifically the Gaza situation. I saw some pretty interesting posts from Trump last night, so I'm just going to give you the floor. Just set that up for us. Yes. So, things are not all buttoned up nice and pretty in the Middle East.

Shocker. Do I have people there, too? Josh, the Viking lord shall be landing in his longship at Tel Aviv shortly. Maybe you can do it, Josh. Maybe you can do it. Maybe that's why it hasn't been. Go across the Mediterranean while you're there. All right. All right, Eric, what you got? So, over the weekend, Trump posted some images of some massive protests taking place in Tel Aviv that are urging Netanyahu not to undo the Trump-backed peace deal with Hamas that we went over Friday on the show.

Great segment on that if you want to check it out. You see these pictures here. These are... These are protesters. It was organized by families of hostages from October 7th, which is, we're heading on the two-year anniversary tomorrow.

Trump also reposted a rather on-the-nose reminder that Netanyahu drew the ire of his Arab neighbors in September last month when he attacked Qatar. Basically, unilaterally, with no input from the U.S., everyone was angry, including Trump, and so Trump reposts this story from the New York Times. Now, why did he do these things? Why are these posts so interesting? Well, On October 3rd, we had Hamas announcing that it was ready to return the hostages and meet about the 21-point peace deal that Trump had rolled out with Netanyahu on Monday.

So, that was October 3rd, and President Trump immediately called on Israel to stop the bombing of Gaza to clear the way for the release of hostages and the movement of civilians through the region. And again, the deal had included this hostage return, halt on all the bombings.

The AP in Al Jazeera reported that the terrorist organization, so Hamas, had accepted two of the key proposals, namely they were going to free all the captives and hand over administration of the Gaza Strip to Palestinian technocrats, was the word Al Jazeera used. Yeah, like to the board that Trump put forward. Right, and Tony Blair, apparently, but I'm getting away from the point. Yeah, go for it. So, Hamas had asked for a meeting to go over all of the points on the plan.

But Israel did not stop the bombing. According to reports, over 60 people in Gaza died between October 3rd, when Hamas said they were ready to negotiate or come to the table for the deal, and October 5th, when Trump posted these responses, 40 of them were in Gaza City, and Gazans are reporting that the Israeli attacks, in fact, intensified after Trump said they were ready to come to the table for the deal. Called for basically a ceasefire.

Well, Rubio gets on. He had a great explanation, I thought, that this is the best shot we have at peace, and here's why it's so urgent. We're not dealing with a political movement. We are dealing with killers and savages and terrorists. That's who we're dealing with. That said, what gives you hope here is that at least there now is a framework for how all this can come to an end and those hostages can be released. What gives you hope here is the fact that for the first time in this entire endeavor, you have the United Arab Emirates.

Yes, you have. You have Qatar, you have Saudi Arabia, you have Turkey, you have Egypt, you have Jordan, you have Indonesia, you have all these countries, the European countries, all lined up behind a plan and putting a tremendous amount of pressure to make it happen. And President Trump is the one that put that together. He put together this coalition pushing in the same direction with us to try to get this, not just the hostages released, but this thing resolved. So, I understand the hope and the dread because many of these hostage families have been living this for over two years, but they have seen other efforts in the past.

We have seen efforts to release hostages that didn't include their loved ones. So, we understand that. We do. And that's why everyone from the highest levels of our administration are so committed to getting this done. That's why even as I speak to you now, talks are ongoing between the mediators to create the conditions and the logistics so we can get those hostages out.

Right, and clearly, the condition of getting hostages out would be that there's not bombs falling everywhere, would be sort of a baseline. It seems that the nub of the issue here is Axios is reporting that Trump and Netanyahu had a call after Hamas came back and said, okay, we're going to meet, we're going to release the hostages, and Trump insisting that Hamas, this is a win, right? Like, we're progressing, something's being done. Netanyahu comes and says, Oh, no, this is actually Hamas rejecting the plan because they didn't explicitly say yes to all 20 points, 21 points.

And apparently, the conversation between Trump and Bibi Netanyahu became very heated. Quote, combative was another way it was described. Netanyahu argued Hamas's statement is a rejection of the plan. And Trump said, I don't know why you're always so effing negative. This is a win. Take it.

So, Once again, Trump and Bibi not seeing eye to eye here. Trump feels he's been so good to Netanyahu. Why are you giving me some aesthetic? Work with me on this one. So, if anyone has a little leverage with him, it would definitely be Trump.

Yeah, especially when the entire Arab world, the Western world, and Pope Leo himself, I mean, all are like, this is great. We're moving towards peace. This is what we wanted. We want the hostages to be back. Take the win. And, like, I promise, like, if you have any... Reservations about how this war has been conducted, and of course, we all want peace. I think at the end of the day, it should be the goal. Continued action to sabotage peace. At this point in time, I just think there's going to be no appetite, no sympathy for it.

I mean, here's the thing. Do I trust that Hamas or Gaza is really legit on all these promises? No, I'm very skeptical, but let's at least try to move forward, and like, don't sabotage it. It's almost like Netanyahu doesn't want the peace. He just wants to bulldoze the whole place. Yeah. So, I mean, you know, do you see the pictures of Trump posting on his social media, all the protesters who are guests? That was the first part of the section, Josh.

Oh, yeah. Well, I think glitched, so I don't know if I heard it. Spanish internet is there, but not. Yeah, Spanish time. Yeah. No, I think it's an amazing time, so. Yeah, amazing accomplishment, and I mean, we heard last week, and I'll put it out there. On Friday, I was like, I think the weakness in the plan is that we don't know how Hamas will respond, and I still stand by that, but we also don't know if Israel's going to uphold it either at this point, because we also heard last week from the Minister of Finance in Israel.

He was against the plan. Bibi Netanyahu is apparently not on board with this. And then we also had the Minister of Defense who was warning everyone to get out of Gaza City or they will be treated as military targets. So, it's not just Hamas that we are questioning here. This is, yeah, like you said.

Doesn't seem like Bibi wants peace right now, either. I'm like, at least get the hostages home. Like, let's at least get through the first eight steps, and then worry about the rest. So, the pictures of the protests, and there's been massive protests going on in Tel Aviv for years now at this point, are over the argument of the Israeli people that he actually isn't interested in getting the hostages home. They posture that way, but they've found ways to basically prolong the war.

And I'm not saying, is that my opinion or someone else's opinion? That's the opinion of these protesters, whether or not you disagree with them. And they have been very large. They've been mass scale, and they've been... We want our hostages home. That's our number one goal. We're not looking at anything else.

Yeah. I mean, he has corruption charges, and there's certainly a lot of internal Israeli politics going on, but I would just say, even to zoom out from the Israeli politics for a second, I think Pope Leo is correct. It's really encouraging to take active steps towards peace. The United States is in a mediation position where we can actively work towards that. I think that everyone is so exhausted right now of just the constant bombing, the constant war, and it's like, if we can find, even if people back out, even if negotiators back out, Like, this is a great comparison to say what's going on in Russia, Ukraine, or any global conflict at all.

It's like, yes, a part of negotiation is the fact that some are not going to be in good faith, or that some people are going to back out. It reminds me a little bit of when Trump got really frustrated and said to the reporters, like, they've both been fighting for so long, they don't know what the F they're doing. Like, we are in a great position here in the United States to actively work towards peace and to enforce it, because we have the power to do so.

Not many countries are really in that position. So, I really hope to see some real steps forward here. Honestly, at the end of the day, both sides have suffered a lot, and I think the people of Gaza that have been kind of collectively punished for the terrible actions of Hamas, and currently are under their thumbs, too. I think of them, honestly. I think of the Catholics at the church. They're still going to mass on Sunday. Their witness is super powerful, and so, yeah, I think what's unfortunate about all this is it gets really nasty, and a lot of the loudest agitators are online, but I actually think we probably agree on more than we disagree.

We want peace in the region. As much as anyone else, I think everyone's kind of on board with that. So, I really am curious. We'll be reporting on what continues to come, but I really appreciate the reporting with the Loop team. So, our Loop News team has done a really fantastic job of kind of threading that needle of just getting you the proper information in a way that doesn't take sides or it gets too nasty. I've just really appreciated that personally as a resource to kind of navigate it.

So, I highly recommend getting into the Loop. Go ahead and subscribe there. I know the people writing it. They do a fantastic job. So, let's go on to the good news now. Erika, you're up first. I love the semi-sesquicentennial. Is that how you say it? I have so many syllables in there. Happy 250th birthday, America. Yes. And this weekend, we celebrated the 250th birthday of our great United States Navy. Shout out to any Navy veterans who are watching or listening. And people that aren't, control yourselves in the chat, because I know that jokes fly around.

That's right. Marines, sit down. Your turn is coming. Yeah, exactly. You'll get your turn, too. Everyone be nice to each other in the armed services here. We have Marines in my family, so I understand, but this was a great celebration. This is Donald Trump, the images from the White House, Melania was there, and man, she's a good-looking girl. I loved watching the celebration, the demonstrations, shaking hands.

Uh-oh. Let me ask Erika. Erika was gasping. Selfies with midship. Darn it. Yeah, my internet and my computer. Erika, you're back. I'm back. Okay. See, this is why I'm texting. Yeah, we can hear you. Yeah. Okay, good. Okay. I'll keep going. Anyway, just loved it. I loved the pictures. It was awesome. And for a birthday present for the Navy, I don't know if this is the intention, they actually finally got their undersecretary. So, congratulations to undersecretary of the Navy. I can't see his name at this point.

Yeah, Hung Kao. Hung Kao. Yeah, he had some great campaign videos. He's a great guy. Yeah, from something good coming out of Virginia. Look at that fan, too. I know. He's got five kids about Christian, and yeah, congrats. Beautiful. There are still, just for those of you who are wondering, there are still over 100 nominees waiting confirmation.

For the Trump administration, but Brian Birch has been confirmed, and now the Navy, for its birthday. Josh, do you know the prominent U.S. President who was, at one point, the Undersecretary of the Navy? Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And? Oh, there's two? Theodore Roosevelt. I did not know.

Oh, and Teddy. Theodore Roosevelt. I did not know that. I didn't know that either. Both Roosevelt's. Good to know. I should say this. My father in the Navy, he said, you know, Vietnam War is going on. He wanted to, he didn't want to shoot anybody. So, he's like, I'll join.

Maybe. He is like on a boat. He ended up being a medic, and he was in Da Nang, which is about as far north as you can get in South Vietnam, and he was patching up all those Marines. Wow.

To honor my dad for service in the Navy. Oh, there you go. And my maternal grandfather as well, so, Jackie. Hey, thank you to everyone in our audience that has served, is currently serving. Parents made a sacrifice. Really appreciate your service. I do not have enough respect to give you, so thank you for your service. One of the coolest mementos of my grandfather, he was in World War II in the Navy, South Pacific, and every time they stopped somewhere, like Midway or wherever, He would pull out a dollar bill, and he would just write on it what the city he was in.

So, my brother has this, you know, and it is all the different spots, history, the sacrifice. Those guys are awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Josh, your good news. I mean, like, just looks like a normal, everyday Catholic person, right? It happens to be the governor of Nebraska. Like, I love it. Wow. Shout out Jim Pellen. I mean, that's pretty cool. Is that 40 days for life? That's so cool. I believe so. So, I just was like, what is this? This is great. So, it's like, he's one of us.

He's one of us. I've got a, speaking of one of us, I got a quick one. I just laughed when I saw this. Maybe some football players can relate, but just a tweet from a random account. Saw a TikTok about a Catholic high school football team whose pregame locker room chant is, Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for them. That's pretty sweet. If you know who that team is, let us know. Maybe even Jesus is laughing on that one.

Come on. Catholics, you've got to have a good sense of humor. That's a tip of the cap to the pregame champ. How'd the Lions do this weekend? Oh, come on now. I'm just praying for my enemies. I'm praying for my opponents. Pray for your opponents. Yeah, they do sorrows. Take care of them, you know? I don't know. It was a random, I guess it was a TikTok, but speaking of TikTok, my C block is going to be AI slap, okay? So, Sora 2 is launched.

Explain what this means. What do you mean, AI slap? This is going to be fun. Yeah, I'll explain this to Josh. AI slap. Here's just a sample of what's going to be possible in the brave new world that we're going to be in. Here is something to whet your appetite.

Keep your hands on the wheel. You almost wiped out three cars back there. Put it in park now. I'm sorry, officer. I just... Don't move. Door's locked. Unlock it right now. I can't get a ticket. That is, for the audio listeners, Spongebob Squarepants in a car getting arrested.

And it looks pretty realistic body cam footage, and it was all generated by Sora 2, which is now... All computer-generated. Total made-to-life. Yes. So, for people curious what's going on now, OpenAI's new Sora app has secured the top spot in Apple's App Store ahead of Google Gemini and the startup's own ChatGPT. Sora allows users to generate short-form AI videos, remix videos created by other users, and post them into a shared feed. This is an invite. I mean... It's going to be great.

The invite-based app launched this week and is only available on iOS devices for now. So, that brings people to talk about this new thing called AI Slop, which is essentially that video paired with a lot of other things. It's like a new future of unreality online. I believe that Meta actually has a version where everything on the app is AI-generated, and they're just upfront about it. Like, it's everything's AI, go crazy, you know, have fun.

And, yeah, it's getting pretty, I mean, I'll share the top of this Axios article. We have Pikachu protesting, stop making Pikachu videos. We have, it looks like Jesus live streaming video game here. Got a dark future ahead of us. A couple of friction that I could see Axios pointed out as well. Truth erosion.

Copyright violation, obviously, because people are just grabbing. I think there was a video I saw of, like, Sam Altman stealing Studio Ghibli's art and running away. Awesome. Memification, personalization, and of course, I think what immediately stuck out to me, intimidation and humiliation.

I cannot even imagine the bullying or harassment fodder of being able to take someone's face and put them on whatever you want. Yeah, because it's all fun and games, you know, like the sombreros, right, last week with the government shutdown, and you get all these AI-generated videos of, like, Hakeem Jeffries and the mariachi band, and you get, like, Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren doing the tango or something.

Like, that's funny, but you also understand that you could take any world leader's face and make a video and throw it out there. Trump posts AI stuff of different world leaders. This could also be nefarious. I think Josh is frozen in Spain, so I'm just going to keep talking. Yeah, keep rocking. Erika, you finally have the space. I know.

Let me lose. No, it's good. Well, we did a video on the deep, which comes out every Thursday at 4 p.m. Eastern, on deep internet, dead internet theory, and this is sort of an amping up of that, I feel like, because now everyone has access to being able to do these videos that are deep fakes and will fool 60, 80% of the people, of the users. You know, 80% of the time, and it is concerning. Yeah, he's back.

We love you, Josh. We're so happy. In Spanish, with a rolling R. In Espanol. No problemo. Si. Oh, wow. Look at that. Yeah, and I think that all these points that you've made, there's the copyright violation issue, there's truth erosion, and there's just the general... The reason it's called slop is because, like what you pour into a pig's trough, it's... It's just overwhelming, disgusting, and indigestible at some point. I think the point, too, about... No care is made to its creation.

Yeah. It's just devoured like pigs. Yeah, it's not... They say it's art, and in a sense, it's an art, because you're making... It's not artisanal, you know? Yeah, it's not artisanal. Josh, was the sound effect necessary? This is what it is.

It's slop. It's slop. You guys mentioned all the different things, the bad things about it, but I think our imagination leads us to where a lot of people are going to end up using it. Yeah. You know, the portal. And then you have all these debates where people are like, well, it gets crazy, because there will be people who say if it's underage, if it's generated and it's not real, then it's not bad. And you're like, what the heck is going on?

No, it's evil to watch this kind of stuff, especially underage. Did you see that tweet of someone defending child pornography? Yes, that is what I was going to say. Because you think these people aren't out there, and then they are like, public profile, they are like, I think he said it isn't inherently wrong.

And he started it out with, it isn't inherently wrong, but, and then continued the defense. Because they're not harmed in its creation. It's like, you know who's harmed? Yeah, the user. The user in the watching of it. You know, it is immoral to watch this, too. Yeah, well, and the person who fed that into the AI. They're like, here, make this. So, it is absolutely causing harm. And the idea that, well, there aren't actual children on screen, so it's not going to affect.

Society, you, me, is ridiculous. It's the same idea. I always go back to contraception, the idea with Griswold v. Connecticut, that somehow what we do in the bedroom has no bearing on the world around us. And this is where Catholic anthropology will save the world. It's like all of our actions redound on the world outside of us. There is no such thing as a private sin. There's no such thing as private sin. Right? Just like there's no such thing as private virtue.

There's the flip side of that coin, and everything that we do, it does affect our brother. Yeah. Here's my take on the AI slap. I feel like the medium right now... It basically is user-created slop. I was just talking to my wife about this the other day. I see people that I know that follow trends online and do it in a way that is oddly counterproductive and unnerving and unnatural because that's the trend of the platform. So, there's this more philosophical argument about, is it the medium or is it the creator?

Does the medium influence the product more than, say, the creator influences the product? So, I think we've already been creating... With the tools we have now, a version of slop, but now it's like we go to the next extreme, which is you're not even really putting in the effort to create what I think a lot of it is kind of sloppy or just not very edifying, and then it's like, okay, you take away that, and now it's just easily created slop to a new trough, to the same trough that's just going to be slop, slop, slop, slop, slop.

I just think it's so unnerving, it's going to push people away. I mean, I've already seen reports of... The backlash. Yeah, activity... Down like 10% across the board. Maybe, but I mean, have we seen Netflix? Yeah, but I would say even that, like, for example, for me, I'm like, I basically won't watch a movie made after 2016.

Yeah, because they're just not good. Maybe that people will be able to create, and the argument for it is you can create things cheaper and quicker, so better ideas will rise to the surface. This is my twilight zone. Yeah, but I think that you're just going to have to navigate. They're not thinking about the user in that scenario. The user is going to have to navigate all the crap to get to some of the gold, and I think it's just so disheartening and exhausting.

After a while, you're just going to say no. Well, that's why curators are important. Yeah. I completely agree, but I just think there's something different about this. I actually don't even think it will go this direction, because it's not going to be successful. They're going to have to find more subtle ways to use it. Like, if you use it for CGI and certain stuff, I don't know. Like, if you did gem-made cartoons this way, it might be less of a problem at it, because, you know, then you're just having a computer draw the cartoon for you.

Yeah. That doesn't strike me as weird as if, you know, because it's not pretending to be. Someone in front of a camera. Yeah, like, to me, it could be, and yeah, again, this is my Twilight Zone, so I'm like blowing out of the water.

Yeah, go for it, go for it. Oh, okay, okay. So, this was, even before Tom, I was reading an article about Tilly Norwood, and if you haven't heard of her before, you're about to hear a lot about her. My favorite star. Tilly Norwood. Tyler Cowen had an article in the Free Press, an essay in the Free Press over the weekend about his favorite actress is not even real, so. Yeah, I think people who aren't familiar with Tilly, we can go ahead and just play this video here.

Yeah, I'm already creeped out. Three seasons and a podcast. Bragging about getting gigs and battling a villain. Meet the latest creation from the world of artificial intelligence. Tilly Norwood, 100% AI generated. The European company Particle 6 is presenting her as an actress. The CEO says she's been meeting with entertainment companies. And Norwood could be represented by a talent agency in the next few months. Real-life actors are outraged. Here's what Emily Blunt told a Variety podcast.

Good Lord. We're screwed. Is this fake? That is really, really scary. Come on, agencies, don't do that. The AI has an unfair advantage, says Whoopi Goldberg. Bring it on. Because you can always tell them. Taking up the fight, too, is SAG-AFTRA, the union representing actors in the U.S. It released a statement saying creativity is and should remain human-centered, and that this is jeopardizing performer livelihoods. ACTRA, the union in Canada, is pushing back on Norwood, too. It is 100% not an actor.

It's an amalgamation of probably hundreds, if not thousands, of professional actors, performers, who have not been compensated at all for this. The unions have already fought and won some AI protections for actors, including consent and compensation for reproductions of their likeness. As for synthetic performers like Norwood, studios would have to negotiate with the unions. Either way, AI... Isn't going away. This actor... Synthetic? What did she just call her? She's a synthetic performer. That's what Tilly Norwood is. Synthetic performer. We're in trouble.

Oh my goodness. But yeah, it's so interesting to watch the SAG-AFTRA, the unions, talk about this, and Tyler Cowen pointed this out. He wrote, the union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics. They claim that Tilly's makers are ripping off human actors because... The AI obviously trained on previous performance. That is what AI is. It is not created. It is kind of like a metaphor for evil, right? It does not create its own thing. It draws off of already existing human things, but we can get into that in a different way.

It is pattern recognition, obviously. Yeah, so it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, but then they go on to argue that they are going to put these actors out of work. But also, they say, well, audiences don't want this product. Audiences aren't interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience. And I'm like, but every Marvel movie, like the whole progression of the Marvel movies to me was a progressive departure from an untethering from human experience, right?

They're not acting anymore. When they just live in a studio, they're not even on location. Like, we have been doing this a long time. To me, Tilly Norwood is just like the next logical step. In what Hollywood's been doing to itself for the last 50 years. So, I'm like, not a lot of sympathy for the SAG argument, I have to say, but in terms of my belief that should art be human-centered, yes. I just don't think SAG has a leg to stand on at this point in Hollywood's history.

But I like Tyler's conclusion to his essay is, I'm in the market for some in-person stand-up comedy, and you know where to find me. So, he has like a list of where he's going to be available, and to me, I think that's what's going to happen is we're going to start having a premium on live performances. People who are lucky will be able to go to in-person concerts. They'll be able to go to stage productions, and that's going to become a sort of niche premium.

Do I think that this is going to... You know, audiences aren't interested in this. No, I think that audiences are addicted enough to their screens that they are interested in Tilly Norwood, because they're just, they want to binge, right? Like, there are enough bingers out there at this point that Netflix can put absolute crap out there, and it won't even hurt their bottom line, because there's enough people who are just going to continue to- They're loving the slap. They love the slap.

Yeah, there'll always be those people, but maybe- That's my cynical. That's cynical, but, and I think it's true, largely, but I think that would have been true. A thousand years ago, it's true today. Like, there's just people that enjoy really base entertainment. Oh, yeah. I mean, the Coliseum. Yeah, right. Exactly. So, but I think what's encouraging to me is there needs, I think there just has to be an acknowledgement that most of our lives are online now, whether or not you like it or not, until someone pulls the plug on it all, we're all going to be online.

And you have agency to determine what enters into your home, what enters into your mind, what enters into your children's minds. So, I think there's more people that this is kind of freaking out in a good way to be like, maybe I need to re-examine my media consumption. Maybe I need to reset some limits. In the same way that these tools create this crap, there's a lot of tools that actually help balance your consumption so that it's more positive than negative.

And the sooner people acknowledge, like, hey, it's not going away, it's not going away, you need to actually set some really concrete steps. You know, we're not even sponsored by them. I'd love to. Then we need tools. We need tools, but Brick is a fantastic tool. It was started by two dudes in college. I use Brick. I have one lying around the office. It just blocks. You can manually block a bunch of apps on your phone and functions of your phone to just focus.

I think that's like one small thing that has really made a huge impact. It's not even really a big deal at Rocket Science. I'd recommend that one. I'd love if they want to sponsor. I'm a huge fan. I use it all the time. That is my takeaway, probably. I like it. That was good. Yeah. Josh, what do you have?

This is Bruce Harrell, the mayor of Seattle. I do not know if he covered this on Friday or not, but this clip is indicative of the progressive left-wing mindset. The criminal system has had a disparate impact on black and brown communities. Let me lead with that. So, when this person is committing six or seven crimes, I don't know his or her story.

Maybe they were abused as a child. Maybe they're hungry. So, my remedy is to find their life story to see how we could help first. I have no desire to put them in jail. But I need to protect you, and that is the calibration that we have.

See, maybe you should find another job then. Maybe you should go be a shrink that works in prisons or stuff like that. But let people like me put people in jail who commit six or seven crimes. You wonder how this stuff kind of happens. How does it?

Why doesn't a 20-year-old immigrant from Ukraine get murdered by a knife on a rail station train in Charlotte, North Carolina? Because people like this are so stupid. And that's why it's like, you know, after a while, we are our brother's keeper, and we have a duty to protect people when mayor...

...like this don't. I believe in the principle of subsidiarity. It should be done on a local level, should be. But the other thing that a lot of conservatives forget about subsidiarity is that sometimes... A local area is somehow incapable of solving the problem, and that's when they need help from above, and so I think it is an act of charity that Donald Trump is rescuing cities like Memphis and Portland, and you know what? Seattle needs to be next, and Chicago, and it is a great act of charity to send in National Guard troops into these cities to stop crimes, and people like this guy, this mayor, Bruce Harrell.

He's the one that deserves to be in jail for what he said. I mean, obviously not in jail for that, but he needs to be kicked out of office. He should be impeached and removed. Absolutely insane behavior. And again, we have a problem in this country with this toxic empathy. I want to show the whole world I'm the saintliest. I'm the holiest by letting, you know, showing mercy. This is not mercy. This is not mercy. This is mercy completely untethered from any logic.

It is not merciful to the next person that this person is going to harm. Right. It's not merciful to them either, because if you truly have a debt to society, first of all, this idea of recidivism, that you just keep putting them out on the street, you know they're most likely to continue to keep acting in this way. We know this from studies of recidivism in populations like this.

The best thing for me, I'm like, what is wrong with restraining them? Do we need jail reform? Yes, we need prison reform. Absolutely. Yes, we are not against this, but this person should not be sent back out onto the street. The only way you're going to get to know his life story is if you put him in one place, and you know where he's going to be for 20 years, and then you can work with him. Make sure he's fed. Oh, he's hungry?

Well, they get fed in prison, right? We can have shrinks in prison. We can have all kinds of stuff. We can have Bible-thumping pastors in prison, because the number one thing we need to do is make sure he's fed. So, what happens next? Well, the first thing The only way to make sure someone doesn't do the same crime again is that they convert while they're in prison because of these bastards. Preserve the gospel.

Christianity, yeah. Now, this year has been, not in a religious way, but like, oh my gosh, people celebrated the murder of Charlie Kirk. Oh my gosh, people are let out on bond and kill people on the subway just innocently six, seven times.

And then we have politicians who, like the guy in Virginia, not only Republicans being murdered, but children of Republican politicians. All these things are very revealing. And then this, where a mayor of a big city in our country, he's like, of course I want to release him.

And you are just like, it is so opposite of common sense. There is no rational basis for this. The only reason to do this is because it foments revolution. These people need to be stopped, and it is an act of charity to the people who live in Seattle, who live in Portland, who live in Memphis, who live in Chicago, to send in the National Guard. And so, I commend President Trump. I hope he does it for Seattle. They need it.

Word, word. All right, mine, personally relate to, this is, what does Gen Z divorce look like? And no, I can't personally relate to it because I've become divorced, but it's because I am Gen Z and I am married. So, this is a New York Times article, and this is a moment of maturity for me because I could just read it and be like, this is so stupid, but I do hopefully want to make a more profound point here. So, it starts off with, in 2021, Kira Benson, a violinist living in Seattle, knew it was time to get a divorce.

Ending their two-year, quote, lavender marriage wasn't an easy decision, but the musician had a supportive ally. If you have to dump your ex-husband, and I don't know what, it's MX, I'm not familiar. Is that a woman or a man? I don't... That's the whole point. Okay. It's a plural. MX Benson said, co-dump him with his mistress. What? Before the breakup. MX Benson 27, I'm 27, who uses the pronoun they, checked in with their therapist who said a divorce would be a good choice.

Out of queer solidarity, they informed their husband's mistress that this was kosher in MX Benson's arrangement, which was not a legal marriage, but a domestic partnership. About their shared partner's troubling behavior, the night of the breakup, MX Benson and the mistress spent a cozy evening together. We're eating a lot of comfort food, playing a lot of Animal Crossing.

I, there's a lot of terminology going on here. A lot going on, and I'm going to try my best to break down. The next point, though, is the senior most members of Gen Z who are in their late 20s, that is me, old enough to have gotten married, but also old enough to regret it. As their generation enters divorcing age, it's finding little shame in the act, especially then a split like MX Benson's is motivated by prioritizing one's mental health. And rather than quietly moving on, younger divorcees ...are often highlighting this facet of their story, even after they're in new relationships.

So, you get the story, and then you get kind of the perspective. And, again, I'm not just going to stop at saying, like, this is stupid. I mean, it is, but I think what was just sad about me reading the whole article, and it doesn't get much better, by the way, is there's no... It lacked any passion.

Or, like, romance or gravity for love in general, or marriage in general? And maybe that was my saddest takeaway. Like, it was full of therapy language. It was full of kind of nonchalant attitude towards sex, towards commitment. Commitment, like anything sacred, like there's nothing sacred about it. And it reminded me of, and again, I continue to be the dude who's like, Right. I can continue to be the dude, and you can make fun of me for this. I read a book, and then I want to talk about it all the time.

This is like, and I have kids, so I don't read very fast, but closing of the American mind. I'm reading it right now, and it's Professor Alan Bloom was talking about his students' attitudes towards sex, and this is back in the 80s.

And he was saying, you know, gone are the days when the kind of natural safeguards of, you know, courtship or not sleeping over at the parents' house, like with the thing. Like, there's all these kind of natural societal safeguards for people having sex with each other, like young people having sex with each other.

And that's kind of all gone now. And when you ask the students their attitude on it, they would say, well, you know, it doesn't, I think the direct quote was, it doesn't really, or it's no big deal. It's no big deal. It's no big deal. It doesn't really matter. And I just like let that kind of sit for a second. And he, of course, is going to say it more eloquently than I can. But he basically was like, all right, sit with that sentence for a second.

It's no big deal. It doesn't really matter. And I unfortunately am seeing now, like with some colleagues, I guess, is the message that they've been delivered about. Love, romance, marriage, childbearing, legacy, family life, is that it's no big deal. It doesn't matter. And that's kind of the saddest part, I think, of the sexual revolution on my part, is it's taken something that is so powerful and is so sacred and told you that it's nothing. And then I look at, clearly, miserable MX Benson or whatever, and they're bizarre, polycule, you know, whatever you want to say.

I genuinely have sympathy for someone in that situation who now go around talking about divorce like it's just like on the menu, basically, or it's just a part of my journey, right? It's a part of the journey, and I'm protecting my mental health, and I'm like, you weren't even, you were given such bad advice that you can't even enjoy the best parts about life. Like, the best parts about life are romance. They have to be a big deal for you to enjoy them.

Right. The greatest example I have of this is my comparison of like... You know, I shoot Catholic weddings, and for the most part, we work with Catholic couples, and then I also have been to some secular weddings where, you know, like the couple is living with each other, and you know, everyone does, I'm not even saying that, I'm not saying.

I'm just taking for what it is. Like, there's people, when you get married and you're secular, you live together, you've clearly been sleeping together. It's just, you know, it means nothing. And then, but for Catholic weddings that we've done, the excitement and the feeling of, like, love and looking forward, anticipation, it's like you can feel it in the air. You can cut it with a knife. And I'm so, I get to be there so intimately with the couple because I'm with the groom right before he gets married.

I'm with the bride right before they get married. And they are just ecstatic. You can't even describe that feeling. And I just love being around that. It's so contagious, and it's amazing. It's truly a gift from God. And to think if you operated off the set of assumptions, basically that we've just handed to the next generation that I think the sexual liberation has promised, is that you'd have more sex, it'd be more exciting, somehow you would not be repressed anymore, and if anything, it's just made everything flat and not exciting, and that's the real tragedy of it, I think.

Tragic. Tragic. Yeah, and people don't even know what they're missing out on. Exactly, yeah. They don't even, they can't even conceive of how... I always think of the image of, I think this was John Henry Newman, and then Bishop Robert Barron has picked it up quite frequently, that when you have moral guardrails, they act like, if your life is like this river, right, that's gushing towards God, towards your last moment, if the riverbanks are sturdy and defined, that water is going to be a powerful current, and it is just going to rush, and it will be amazing.

But if you break down all of the... If you break down all the riverbanks, you're going to end up with this shallow lagoon that turns into a mud pit. There's just meh. And I remember, too, when we were interviewing Father Mike Schmitz in Nashville, and we were saying, what's the biggest challenge the Americans are facing today? Of course, we're thinking, I don't know, porn or something like that. And he's like, it's indifferentism. It's just not caring about anything. And, you know, he'll have students come through who are just like, oh, religion?

Oh, sex? Marriage? Maybe, you know, and that is, I think that is the great tragedy of our time. And I think it's odd that we've been pressured, like I have children now, and I think often about their future and their vocation, and I don't know where this pressure came in to just give up on every structure or responsibility as your parent to actually provide that joy to your children one day. Instead of thinking about it as this repression and that it needs to be torn down, I'm like, could you imagine if you explained this properly to a child and actually committed to having hard conversations and Drawing hard lines because it's actually for their benefit one day so that they can enjoy this kind of ecstasy.

That's actually really heroic and noble, and I don't know how it's been branded the other way around, as if you're somehow robbing someone of something. I don't know. I have great parents, and I think about my marriage right now. I think about my children.

That's what this is all for. We just sold this weird bag of terrible goods that have no ultimate fulfillment and no value beyond just what's now, and all of my greatest joys in life completely transcend the physical reality I'm in right now. So, I don't know. Yeah, that would be like my Gen Z reflections on my wonderful marriage and wife.

My family, and I'm like, I think I just got really lucky. Like, a lot of this is, like, grace of God, of course, that I was just put in good situations, and I was even, you know, I had this opportunity, but I look, and I'm like, I'm a couple degrees away from being, maybe not in that situation with MX Benson or whatever. With the lavender marriage. You know, yeah, like, yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. And so, I'm really grateful for that, and I guess I would just encourage, like, Parents who are in this position, or even young men, young women thinking about this, or maybe you're even really young and you're thinking about, like, there's all these allures, like I think the promises of the sexual revolution are flashy, I mean, as most sin is.

But of course, leave you kind of miserable and take something away from you that you can't get back in a lot of areas. Well, and you mentioned, you know, the sacredness of human sexuality, which it's true, but we probably need some language.

As an intermediary step to try to get people to get halfway, because we say sacred, and sex is considered the most profane thing. It's all enjoyment. It's like, you know, yes, it's fun, yes, but there's some dignity here, too. You know, it's, you know, there's something, it's not just, you know.

A physical activity, there is some sort of spiritual component to it. You start to use some language that people can kind of, you know, who are very secular, they can start to go, okay, maybe you're onto something. Like, yeah, you know.

I guess what's sad is I read this article, and clearly, they don't think there's anything more, and I'm like, wouldn't you even kind of have this internal desire to want it to be more than something that you're going through right now? Like, I would just, like, I think people of goodwill would just want it to, like, it has to be, there has to be something more than this kind of abuse. I totally agree with you. I'm just saying, like, sometimes you need to.

I agree with you. I agree with you. You need some ability to kind of joke with people because, look, I'm sitting at a table with six people from different places, L.A., New York. San Francisco, two people, three people from Spain, and if I dropped a fork on the floor and I picked it up and used it, people would be like, oh my gosh, and no one would imagine, like, I just drank from a bottle, let me hand it to you, and no one would drink from it.

That is gross. Yeah, well, you know, if you have multiple partners, like what you're doing a lot more, I mean, guys, not that I'm discussing this at the dinner table with a bunch of journalists, but like, sometimes you need that kind of awareness. Like, come on, people. This is Josh Versa. I give it to you straight. Straight, straight as they come, man.

There's a vivid image there. Got it. Coming in hot from Spain, bro. It's like a hot plate of paella. Whoa. Jeez. Okay. Good episode, guys. We ride. We ride into the next episode on Wednesday. Josh will be, you should give us like a pre-recording of your travels in Spain so we can play it. I know. We need a little like vlog.

I'm not. I'm not as much into the video stuff, but I've taken a ton of photos over on Instagram, and then I'm on Twitter as at Joshua Mercer. So, I'm, you know, I'm posting a lot of photos. I mean, I've seen some amazing cathedrals. Man, you know, of course, I mean, Spain has been around for so long. I mean, we just passed the The Roman Silver Road, and this town where I'm at is where the Roman Silver Road meets the Camino, so, I mean, we're talking buildings that are very old, so it's just so much history.

I'm going to follow you now. I love it, so it's neat. All right, great. If you want to support us, check out our sponsors, Nazareth and Tom's Title Lock. Thank you, guys. Champions Club, best way to support us, captainvote.org slash champions.

We're going to end with a prayer today and ride on to the Wednesday episode. In the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Amen. Amen. My adorable Jesus, may our feet journey together. May our hands gather in unity. May our hearts beat in unison. May our souls be in harmony. May our thoughts be as one. May our ears listen to the silence together. May our glances profoundly penetrate each other. May our lips pray together to gain mercy from the Eternal Father.

Amen. St. Thomas More, St. Fidelis, Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. And we will catch you guys on the Wednesday episode. Have a great day. Peace.