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Hello, ladies and gentlemen.

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Welcome. Happy, uh, happy Leap.

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Year Day, leap leap, year day.

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Um, uh, please turn off your cell phones.

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I know, uh, I know everyone will, except for the person

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who left their cell phone in the ladies restroom.

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We have it in the back, so just so check, uh oh.

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You have it. We have it right here. Perfect. Thanks.

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So, uh, uh, ladies and gentlemen, welcome, welcome, welcome.

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My name's David Earl. Um,

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I am a professor of English.

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I am the Chair of Art and Design,

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and I am the new interim dean of the College of Arts,

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social Science, and the Humanities.

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And I am excited, I am honored

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to be in this role serving the college, the university,

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and the community of Pensacola.

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You know, I think we can all agree

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that Pensacola is the center of culture

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for the Florida Gulf Coast,

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and I hope that we can agree that UWF is the cultural center

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of Pensacola, and I know

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that the College of Art, social Science

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and Humanities is the cultural center

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of the University of West Florida.

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Exactly because of events

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and opportunities like this tonight.

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So from our general education classes

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that every student in the university takes

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to our graduate programs in government, in history

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and English, anthropology

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and communication, we teach civil discourse.

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We supply the history of issues

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and give students the critical skills

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to understand those often complex

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and difficult issues from multiple positions.

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The Seligman First Amendment lecture series is itself

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about civil discourse.

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These lectures are funded by a generous gift from the JG

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and Fred k Seligman Endowment

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has a Jewish Emig grave from Nazi Germany.

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In 1934, Fred Seligman cherished the freedoms protected

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by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

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Because of experiences,

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Fred Seligman understood the challenges

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that nations like the United States face in

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protecting those freedoms.

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The hope of the Seligman family, uh, some

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of whom are here tonight, or,

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or, uh, streaming in from online, is

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that this series will part

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where will foster a deeper discussion

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among the community faculty

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and students, particularly has students prepare

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to lead the world in which they may have

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to discern what is right.

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And just our talk tonight is in the spirit

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of the Southern Wing lectures.

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And to get us started, I'd like to welcome David Ramsey,

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chair of the Ruben OD Askew Department of Government

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who will introduce our speaker.

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Thank you.

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Uh, thank you, Dean Earl. Good evening, everybody.

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Um, just a moment. I'll introduce the speaker,

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but first, uh, a, a preliminary word.

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Um, I'd like to remind you that the, the purpose

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of these talks is to promote discussion

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of First Amendment principles in our community.

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Um, our speaker has prepared some remarks to initiate, uh,

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our conversation, but it's important, uh, an important part

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of our practice at UWF that, uh, we never invite a speaker

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to come in without also, uh, requiring that they stand

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and answer questions from the, from the audience.

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So, as he's speaking, I'd like to ask each of you

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to think about what your question will be this evening, uh,

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and to take your responsibility as members

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of the audience seriously, to engage in conversation about

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the, the topics that he has brought here to discuss,

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uh, very seriously.

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Um, it's really, you know, this, this thing that we do, uh,

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where we talk together about things that could divide us

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and listen to one another, uh, asking questions,

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giving answers, and then thinking of more questions.

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That's at the heart of what the First Amendment was intended

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to promote in our community.

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And it's a part of how this country, uh, comes

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to decisions together that are

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help us arrive at a consensus view on things.

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Okay, now, to our speaker, uh, as a reporter

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for the New York Times, Mr.

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Berenson covered the Iraq War

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and the Ponzi scheme of Bernie Madoff.

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He's written on the recent, uh, movement

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to legalize marijuana as the author

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of more than a Dozen spy novels.

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And he regularly writes these days, uh, sort of the home

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of First Amendment freedoms substack under the banner

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of unreported truths.

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The First Amendment, of course, has everything to do

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with the pursuit and public discussion of what is true.

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Mr. Berenson has made a career out of the creative use

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of his First Amendment rights of speech

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and press to bring important

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information to public attention.

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We've invited him to deliver this year's Seligman Lecture

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because of his unique involvement in what some have called

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the new censorship.

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That is the nexus that's developed in recent years

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between federal administrative agencies

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and social media companies

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to censor disfavored political speech.

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I will leave it to Mr. Berenson to tell his story,

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but I should note that it was his successful challenge

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to a Twitter ban that set in motion.

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A wave of lawsuits now being decided by the Supreme Court.

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This term, champions

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of the First Amendment are rarely

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celebrated in their moment.

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They make use of their rights to express views

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that run counter to the majority.

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They're dissenters. First Amendment principles are rarely

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noticed or contested until moments of challenge

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or crisis, when the history

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of the recent past is written as it will be.

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It's my belief that Mr.

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Berenson will emerge as one of the great champions

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of First Amendment principles during these years.

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His is a First Amendment story worth

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hearing and sharing with others.

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Please join me in welcoming to the podium, Mr.

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Alex Berenson.

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Thank you. Thank you. Um, that was incredibly generous.

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Um, really, uh, thank you, um, professor Ramsey,

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um, and, uh, and Dean Earl.

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Um, and thank you all for coming.

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Uh, I know it's, it's, I got a little break

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'cause it's not, you know, it's not 80 degrees

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and sunny out there, so, uh, it's a good, it's a good,

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it's a good evening to, uh, to, to be in here.

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Um, and I,

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and I wanna really thank the, you know, the University

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of West Florida for standing up for academic freedom and,

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and freedom of speech.

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Um, the, when I tweeted about this, uh, uh,

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and I'm gonna call it Twitter the whole time

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because I don't think anyone except Elon Musk actually calls

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it X And then you have to say, you posted instead of tweet.

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It is just a, it's Twitter.

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Um, the University of West Florida is the first,

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and it's so far the only public, uh,

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university in the United States to invite me to speak, uh,

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on campus, um, uh,

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or at an event, uh, in the, in the four years since I became

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known as, uh, a covid skeptic,

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or I, I guess I would say lockdown skeptic,

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because I don't wanna make it sound as if I'm skeptical

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of the existence of covid or anything like that.

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And then, um, what I would say, an mRNA vaccine skeptic,

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not a, not a vaccine skeptic or an anti-vaxxer.

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I always like to make that clear.

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Um, uh,

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and it's, it's not as though, um, you know, the University

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of North Carolina or the University of Texas

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or wherever they're desperate to have me,

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but Harvard is booking me all the time.

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Either that's, that's not what has happened.

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Um, uh, the only other, uh, college

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or university that I've spoken at

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or to in the last, uh, few years is Hillsdale.

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Um, which, uh, is some of you may know, is a, you know,

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small private college in Michigan that, um, uh,

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I would say is known as a conservative, uh, leaning place.

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Certainly not in, um, you know,

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not in the mainstream academically.

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Um, and so it's not just that, uh, that I've sort

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of been shut out of academia in terms of my views about,

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you know, whether lockdowns made sense.

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And, uh, you know, the mRNA efficacy and safety.

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No one has even asked me to speak about

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what happened in 2021

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and 2022, uh, to me, uh,

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especially in the spring

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and summer of 2021 when pressure from the White House

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and, uh, and senior officials at Pfizer, uh,

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which is a company that has a not so small stake, uh,

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in mRNA vaccines.

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And which, um, has made almost a hundred billion dollars,

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mostly from the United States, uh,

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on covid vaccines and treatments.

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Uh, sold a hundred, a hundred billion,

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made probably 30 or 40 billion.

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Um, so no one has asked me to speak about what happened, uh,

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and the, the,

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the follow up when I successfully sued Twitter, um,

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survived the motion to dismiss, uh,

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and forced Twitter to reinstate me in the summer of 2022.

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Um, that was before Elon Musk bought Twitter, uh,

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and, you know, did a mass reinstatement of people

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who the previous regime had banned.

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This was under the old regime.

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Um, and as far as I know, I'm the only person

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who's ever forced a social media company to let me,

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to let anyone, you know, to let me back on following a ban.

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Uh, I'll, I'll sort of explain why the companies have

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so much control in a little while.

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There's a, there's a federal law called Section, well,

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it's called the Communications Decency Act,

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but Section two 30 of the Communications Decency Act gives

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the companies incredible power over the content

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that they host, while at the same time they have essentially

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no liability for the content that they host,

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which is a very, very nice state of affairs for them.

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Um, but, but truly, as far as I know,

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unless there's somebody else out there,

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and if that person's out there, please email me.

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So I'll stop saying it.

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Uh, I'm the only person ever to have been banned, sued

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and gotten back on after the suit.

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Um, and, you know, that's, there's, there's,

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there's unique factors in my case, plus some very good, uh,

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legal work by James Lawrence, uh, who's my lawyer on, on

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that case, the lead lawyer,

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and also is representing me in the follow-up lawsuit

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where I'm suing the federal government, uh, suing Pfizer

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and the federal government over my, uh, over the ban.

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Um, but nonetheless, it is unique.

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Um, and so I would, I would sort of think

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that just from the point of view of that, that, you know,

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as a Man Bites dog story,

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people would be somewhat interested in having me talk.

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Um, 'cause I do have a somewhat unique perspective on,

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you know, on social media and social media censorship

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and two 30 and the band decisions and all the rest of it.

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Um, but I'm not, uh, and it's not

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because this isn't an interesting topic.

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Uh, the Supreme Court, you know, last week, uh,

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earlier this week, I should say, heard a case, um,

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that is very, very directly relevant involving Texas

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and Florida about how much control states can try to,

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or pressure states can try to apply

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to social media companies to force them to carry content

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or carry users they don't want to carry.

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And then in about three weeks, uh,

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the court is hearing the case that was known

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as Missouri v Biden, now known as Murthy v Missouri,

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which is about, uh, conduct more, even more directly related

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to what happened to me.

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I'm actually mentioned quite a bit in, um, in a lot

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of the pleadings in that case and decisions, uh,

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and the initial decision in that case.

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But in that case, that's about whether the Biden

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administration and, you know,

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and the administrative agencies can pressure social media

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companies, not just Twitter, but all social media companies,

255
00:12:13,265 --> 00:12:18,085
um, to carry content, to ban users, um, whether, so the,

256
00:12:18,105 --> 00:12:21,245
the cases heard this week, you would say are about, um,

257
00:12:21,755 --> 00:12:26,205
whether or not the states can force companies to,

258
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to carry everything, whether

259
00:12:27,965 --> 00:12:31,325
or not they want to the case next month,

260
00:12:31,465 --> 00:12:34,125
Murthy v Missouri is about sort

261
00:12:34,125 --> 00:12:37,085
of targeting individual users or individual posts,

262
00:12:37,085 --> 00:12:39,045
and whether the federal government can do that so

263
00:12:39,045 --> 00:12:41,525
that it's two separate but related issues,

264
00:12:41,585 --> 00:12:43,485
but they're both very important.

265
00:12:43,785 --> 00:12:47,125
Um, so,

266
00:12:48,825 --> 00:12:50,485
so I do want to talk about two 30,

267
00:12:50,745 --> 00:12:52,925
and I do want to talk about these cases, but

268
00:12:52,925 --> 00:12:53,925
before I do that,

269
00:12:54,285 --> 00:12:57,005
I wanna talk about an even more basic issue

270
00:12:57,005 --> 00:13:00,205
and an an issue really that this lecture is all about.

271
00:13:00,945 --> 00:13:02,045
And that's about whether

272
00:13:02,045 --> 00:13:03,325
or not Americans actually even still

273
00:13:03,325 --> 00:13:04,565
believe in the First Amendment.

274
00:13:05,225 --> 00:13:09,205
Um, which may sound odd, especially, you know, the,

275
00:13:09,345 --> 00:13:11,285
the average age in this audience, I don't know, it's 40,

276
00:13:11,385 --> 00:13:13,205
or it's between 40 and 50, I guess.

277
00:13:13,785 --> 00:13:17,485
Um, younger Americans are much less likely

278
00:13:17,865 --> 00:13:19,725
to believe in the principles of the First Amendment

279
00:13:19,785 --> 00:13:21,125
to believe in unfettered speech.

280
00:13:21,505 --> 00:13:22,925
Um, and, uh,

281
00:13:22,925 --> 00:13:24,605
and they're much less likely if they're on

282
00:13:24,605 --> 00:13:25,645
the left than the right.

283
00:13:26,105 --> 00:13:28,925
And these trends have accelerated pretty dramatically

284
00:13:29,065 --> 00:13:30,285
in the last few years.

285
00:13:30,385 --> 00:13:32,845
And this is a, this is not, you know, a theory.

286
00:13:32,845 --> 00:13:34,005
This is not me saying this

287
00:13:34,005 --> 00:13:35,485
because somebody was mean to me on Twitter.

288
00:13:35,485 --> 00:13:37,045
There's polling data on this.

289
00:13:37,905 --> 00:13:41,125
Um, as, as, uh,

290
00:13:41,125 --> 00:13:45,005
professor Ramsey said in his introduction, my main form of,

291
00:13:45,105 --> 00:13:47,845
uh, entertainment I, and, uh,

292
00:13:48,145 --> 00:13:50,445
and, um, uh, uh,

293
00:13:51,155 --> 00:13:53,645
support these days is my substack.

294
00:13:54,305 --> 00:13:58,085
Um, I, uh, I, I have, it's called Unreported Truths.

295
00:13:58,505 --> 00:14:03,445
Um, Substack is a, uh, is a company in San Francisco,

296
00:14:03,705 --> 00:14:06,285
um, that essentially it's a newsletter platform mostly.

297
00:14:06,905 --> 00:14:09,365
Um, it's very easy to use, uh,

298
00:14:09,465 --> 00:14:11,885
and a lot of, uh, you know, a lot of sort of

299
00:14:12,765 --> 00:14:16,525
prominent people who used to write from mainstream media

300
00:14:16,665 --> 00:14:18,925
or had maybe their own blogs have migrated there.

301
00:14:18,925 --> 00:14:20,605
They're very pro free speech.

302
00:14:21,425 --> 00:14:23,925
Um, I mean, I would say probably the most prominent person

303
00:14:23,945 --> 00:14:27,285
on Substack is Matt Taibbi, uh, who you may

304
00:14:27,745 --> 00:14:31,405
or may not know became famous when he wrote, uh,

305
00:14:31,715 --> 00:14:35,085
that Goldman Sachs was, quote, a giant vampire squid wrapped

306
00:14:35,085 --> 00:14:36,925
around the face of humanity back

307
00:14:37,095 --> 00:14:39,325
after the, uh, 2008 financial crisis.

308
00:14:39,325 --> 00:14:42,805
That's not exactly a hyper conservative point of view,

309
00:14:43,005 --> 00:14:45,125
I think, but, you know, like, like me,

310
00:14:45,225 --> 00:14:46,565
Taibbi has been exiled

311
00:14:46,565 --> 00:14:49,045
because he doesn't endlessly agree

312
00:14:49,435 --> 00:14:51,485
with everything the New York Times writes.

313
00:14:52,025 --> 00:14:55,445
Um, so, so, so I write mainly on Substack,

314
00:14:55,745 --> 00:14:58,085
and I've got about a quarter million subscribers.

315
00:14:58,085 --> 00:14:59,405
Most people do not pay,

316
00:14:59,425 --> 00:15:01,685
but enough people pay that I'm able to pay the bills,

317
00:15:01,695 --> 00:15:04,165
which is, which is comforting, um,

318
00:15:04,175 --> 00:15:05,525
since I don't think the New York Times

319
00:15:05,525 --> 00:15:06,725
is ever gonna hire me again.

320
00:15:07,705 --> 00:15:11,685
Um, so I, I just want to, you know, in, in, in great, uh,

321
00:15:12,325 --> 00:15:15,925
reporter form, quote myself, quote a piece that I wrote, uh,

322
00:15:16,065 --> 00:15:20,085
on Substack last summer, which was called the Scariest Poll.

323
00:15:20,085 --> 00:15:22,605
You'll see this summer, and it's not about Joe Biden.

324
00:15:23,625 --> 00:15:26,045
Um, and these were, this was how the article began.

325
00:15:26,465 --> 00:15:28,965
Uh, a majority of Americans

326
00:15:29,545 --> 00:15:30,605
and an overwhelming number

327
00:15:30,605 --> 00:15:32,965
of Democrats no longer support First Amendment

328
00:15:32,965 --> 00:15:34,205
protections for free speech.

329
00:15:34,705 --> 00:15:37,245
The government should restrict false information online,

330
00:15:37,275 --> 00:15:39,925
even if doing so blocks people from publishing

331
00:15:39,945 --> 00:15:41,285
or accessing information.

332
00:15:41,655 --> 00:15:44,885
55% of Americans said in a large poll release, Thursday,

333
00:15:45,355 --> 00:15:47,245
only 42% disagreed.

334
00:15:47,785 --> 00:15:50,525
The antipathy to free speech represents a sea change in

335
00:15:50,685 --> 00:15:51,725
attitudes in just five years.

336
00:15:51,785 --> 00:15:53,925
It is driven by a powerful new hostility

337
00:15:53,985 --> 00:15:55,125
to First Amendment rights.

338
00:15:55,125 --> 00:15:58,925
On the left. In an identically worded poll, five years ago,

339
00:15:59,205 --> 00:16:01,165
Democrats and Republicans favored free speech online

340
00:16:01,185 --> 00:16:02,605
by roughly three to two margins.

341
00:16:02,975 --> 00:16:06,085
Today, Republicans still favor the First Amendment by about

342
00:16:06,085 --> 00:16:07,885
that much, but Democrats have turned

343
00:16:07,885 --> 00:16:09,005
against it by even more.

344
00:16:09,345 --> 00:16:11,605
Now, now, note that, you know, the question didn't say,

345
00:16:11,605 --> 00:16:12,925
do you support the First Amendment?

346
00:16:13,305 --> 00:16:15,445
You said, it said, is it okay

347
00:16:15,625 --> 00:16:18,085
to publish false information online?

348
00:16:18,745 --> 00:16:22,765
But the government isn't supposed to be in the business

349
00:16:22,825 --> 00:16:25,605
of judging whether information is true or false.

350
00:16:25,805 --> 00:16:28,525
I I mean, there are exceptions, right?

351
00:16:28,525 --> 00:16:31,485
If I, if I go try to raise money from you, you know,

352
00:16:31,785 --> 00:16:34,765
and in a, you know, in a, in a stock offering

353
00:16:34,825 --> 00:16:36,245
or just anywhere,

354
00:16:36,545 --> 00:16:38,325
and I tell you, my business is making millions

355
00:16:38,325 --> 00:16:39,205
of dollars a year, it's actually

356
00:16:39,205 --> 00:16:40,365
losing millions of dollars a year.

357
00:16:40,385 --> 00:16:41,685
I'm committing fraud, right?

358
00:16:41,705 --> 00:16:44,005
So, so, so, so we don't,

359
00:16:44,005 --> 00:16:45,885
the First Amendment doesn't extend to everything.

360
00:16:46,125 --> 00:16:47,805
I, you know, I can't call my neighbor

361
00:16:47,805 --> 00:16:49,725
and say, Hey, you know, like, uh,

362
00:16:49,785 --> 00:16:51,685
I'm gonna burn your house down if you, you know,

363
00:16:51,685 --> 00:16:54,045
if you don't stop the dogs from barking, right there, there,

364
00:16:54,145 --> 00:16:56,125
the First Amendment doesn't, doesn't,

365
00:16:56,185 --> 00:16:58,165
it doesn't un allow unlimited speech,

366
00:16:58,825 --> 00:17:01,765
but in the public realm, it allows

367
00:17:02,665 --> 00:17:04,285
mostly unlimited speech.

368
00:17:04,665 --> 00:17:09,045
And, and it's really not up to the White House

369
00:17:09,305 --> 00:17:12,645
or anybody else in, in government to determine whether

370
00:17:12,645 --> 00:17:14,845
that speech is permissible because it's true

371
00:17:14,905 --> 00:17:16,925
or false that's not there.

372
00:17:16,945 --> 00:17:19,365
The First Amendment doesn't say anything about falsity

373
00:17:19,825 --> 00:17:21,965
or accuracy or anything like that.

374
00:17:22,105 --> 00:17:25,485
It says that the government is not supposed to abridge

375
00:17:26,035 --> 00:17:27,045
your right to speak.

376
00:17:27,625 --> 00:17:31,365
Um, so this poll, uh, was conducted

377
00:17:31,365 --> 00:17:33,125
by the Pew Research Center, which is a,

378
00:17:33,255 --> 00:17:36,045
which is a respected Washington, you know, think tank.

379
00:17:36,185 --> 00:17:39,405
And it covered 5,000 adults. It's, it's probably accurate.

380
00:17:40,065 --> 00:17:42,325
Um, and it's capturing a real trend, right?

381
00:17:42,385 --> 00:17:45,605
And, and the thing is, that trend isn't just visible in

382
00:17:45,635 --> 00:17:47,525
what people are telling Pew.

383
00:17:48,145 --> 00:17:49,605
It has real world impacts.

384
00:17:49,865 --> 00:17:54,125
Um, a few months ago, I think it was March of, uh, 2023

385
00:17:54,885 --> 00:17:56,085
students at Stanford Law School.

386
00:17:56,225 --> 00:17:57,565
Now, these are law students, right?

387
00:17:57,565 --> 00:18:01,085
They're, they're supposed to be, uh, you know, attuned

388
00:18:01,085 --> 00:18:02,565
to constitutional principles.

389
00:18:03,065 --> 00:18:05,085
Uh, they should understand the value of the First Amendment.

390
00:18:05,235 --> 00:18:07,325
They shadowed down a federal judge when

391
00:18:07,325 --> 00:18:08,365
he came to speak to them.

392
00:18:09,065 --> 00:18:11,245
And a Stanford Diversity Dean.

393
00:18:11,265 --> 00:18:13,565
And Diversity Dean is an actual position at Stanford.

394
00:18:13,705 --> 00:18:16,365
And most universities, uh, showed up.

395
00:18:16,745 --> 00:18:18,965
She didn't tell the students, Hey, you gotta be quiet.

396
00:18:19,105 --> 00:18:21,725
Now, this man came to speak and we're gonna let him speak.

397
00:18:21,725 --> 00:18:22,765
If you have respectful

398
00:18:22,925 --> 00:18:23,965
questions afterwards, you can ask 'em.

399
00:18:23,965 --> 00:18:25,005
No, she didn't say that to him.

400
00:18:25,985 --> 00:18:28,925
She said to the judge, she said, do you have anything

401
00:18:28,945 --> 00:18:30,605
so incredibly important to say?

402
00:18:31,145 --> 00:18:33,365
And she said, is the juice worth the squeeze?

403
00:18:33,465 --> 00:18:36,565
In other words, is it worth annoying these students

404
00:18:36,675 --> 00:18:37,845
with your opinions,

405
00:18:38,425 --> 00:18:40,285
or should you just let them shout you down?

406
00:18:41,145 --> 00:18:45,775
Um, I think, I think adults

407
00:18:46,195 --> 00:18:49,895
and particularly left leaning adults, they truly believe now

408
00:18:50,085 --> 00:18:52,295
that they have the right not to hear words

409
00:18:52,435 --> 00:18:54,775
or concepts that are gonna bother them.

410
00:18:55,325 --> 00:18:58,455
This, it gets, these things get called microaggressions.

411
00:18:58,455 --> 00:19:02,215
You hear talk of unsafe environments, um, you know,

412
00:19:03,435 --> 00:19:05,095
saying something that, you know,

413
00:19:05,585 --> 00:19:07,135
might have gotten you yelled at

414
00:19:07,555 --> 00:19:09,615
or punched, uh, you know, a,

415
00:19:09,735 --> 00:19:12,735
a a a generation ago now might get you thrown out of school,

416
00:19:12,875 --> 00:19:14,975
out of a university that's a, you know, and, and,

417
00:19:14,995 --> 00:19:17,655
and students or, you know, or socially shunned.

418
00:19:17,675 --> 00:19:21,055
And students are extremely cognizant of the risks,

419
00:19:21,475 --> 00:19:24,215
and a lot of them, but a lot of them believed it, uh,

420
00:19:24,455 --> 00:19:26,335
believed that this is the right thing to do, that,

421
00:19:26,335 --> 00:19:29,535
that they really shouldn't be confronted on a personal level

422
00:19:29,565 --> 00:19:30,935
with speech that bothers them.

423
00:19:31,715 --> 00:19:34,935
Um, and to me, the most stunning part of

424
00:19:34,935 --> 00:19:37,255
what happened at Stanford is that the diversity dean

425
00:19:38,555 --> 00:19:40,775
had previously worked for the ACL U,

426
00:19:41,195 --> 00:19:42,615
the American Civil Liberties Union,

427
00:19:43,065 --> 00:19:46,095
which is just completely forgotten its principles.

428
00:19:46,275 --> 00:19:49,575
Um, you know, that was less surprising

429
00:19:49,575 --> 00:19:51,695
to me than it should have been because I, well,

430
00:19:52,135 --> 00:19:54,495
remember when the, I believe it was the A c U'S Executive

431
00:19:54,695 --> 00:19:56,255
Director, I will have to go back and check, but when two

432
00:19:56,255 --> 00:20:00,535
senior A CLU officials in September 21st, 2021 wrote

433
00:20:00,535 --> 00:20:02,015
that they believed that COVID vaccine

434
00:20:02,175 --> 00:20:03,375
mandates were a good idea.

435
00:20:03,695 --> 00:20:06,855
I mean, uh, that strikes me

436
00:20:06,855 --> 00:20:08,495
as the opposite of civil liberties.

437
00:20:08,735 --> 00:20:10,335
Whatever you think of the COVID vaccines,

438
00:20:10,385 --> 00:20:13,255
COVID vaccine mandates, if the A CLU is on board

439
00:20:13,255 --> 00:20:17,015
with the covid vaccine mandates, then, then, you know,

440
00:20:17,015 --> 00:20:19,015
it's name doesn't mean anything anymore.

441
00:20:19,835 --> 00:20:23,575
Um, so, so when you talk about these

442
00:20:24,155 --> 00:20:25,855
microaggressions or hate speech

443
00:20:25,875 --> 00:20:27,975
or harassment, when you're talking about words really

444
00:20:28,215 --> 00:20:30,015
targeted at individuals, that's,

445
00:20:30,015 --> 00:20:32,735
that's a tricky enough thing to try to regulate and ban.

446
00:20:32,835 --> 00:20:36,735
But, you know, we do have some precedent for that.

447
00:20:36,875 --> 00:20:38,935
As I said, you can't just, you know, I can't stand

448
00:20:38,935 --> 00:20:42,535
outside your house playing music for six hours straight.

449
00:20:42,605 --> 00:20:44,375
Like, I can't, I can't threaten you.

450
00:20:44,495 --> 00:20:46,535
I mean, not all speech is

451
00:20:47,425 --> 00:20:49,445
is permissible even offline, right?

452
00:20:49,505 --> 00:20:53,045
So we, and we have a large body of jurisprudence that sort

453
00:20:53,045 --> 00:20:55,005
of says what we can and can't do.

454
00:20:55,825 --> 00:20:58,565
Um, and I think, you know, no one,

455
00:20:58,585 --> 00:20:59,805
and I'm a pretty, like,

456
00:21:00,145 --> 00:21:01,485
I'm a pretty strong believer in the First Amendment.

457
00:21:01,505 --> 00:21:04,125
No one believes the First Amendment protects all speech,

458
00:21:06,865 --> 00:21:10,605
but there's an even more problematic, uh, issue,

459
00:21:10,815 --> 00:21:15,045
which is not speech that's directed or annoying

460
00:21:15,905 --> 00:21:18,165
or, you know, targeting individuals.

461
00:21:18,675 --> 00:21:20,725
It's, it's this idea of misinformation

462
00:21:21,305 --> 00:21:22,645
and disinformation, right?

463
00:21:22,645 --> 00:21:26,005
So this is really political speech, public speech, debate,

464
00:21:26,005 --> 00:21:30,005
speech, and, you know, not intended to harm

465
00:21:30,225 --> 00:21:31,245
or harass

466
00:21:31,345 --> 00:21:33,885
or annoy, um, really just intended

467
00:21:33,905 --> 00:21:35,805
to present points of view to convince people.

468
00:21:36,005 --> 00:21:38,045
I, I don't think the covid vaccines are a good idea

469
00:21:38,045 --> 00:21:39,085
for people under 50.

470
00:21:39,185 --> 00:21:41,365
Here's why. Here is what I'm tweeting.

471
00:21:42,025 --> 00:21:46,445
Um, you know, you, you think that, that, uh,

472
00:21:46,445 --> 00:21:47,445
babies should get them.

473
00:21:47,465 --> 00:21:49,045
Here's why. Here's what you're saying.

474
00:21:49,465 --> 00:21:53,645
Um, so when you, the, the thing about misinformation is

475
00:21:53,645 --> 00:21:57,045
that when you actually try to define it, it gets trickier

476
00:21:57,045 --> 00:21:59,605
and trickier to define sometimes the people who

477
00:21:59,905 --> 00:22:02,965
who use this term say they mean false information.

478
00:22:03,115 --> 00:22:05,405
Sometimes they mean inaccurate information.

479
00:22:05,595 --> 00:22:08,205
Sometimes they just call it misleading information

480
00:22:08,235 --> 00:22:09,685
that can be misinformation,

481
00:22:10,305 --> 00:22:12,565
but they also sometimes use a different term,

482
00:22:12,735 --> 00:22:15,725
which is a word I suspect that even if you're sort of up

483
00:22:15,725 --> 00:22:17,445
to date on this, you probably haven't heard very often

484
00:22:17,445 --> 00:22:21,605
called malformation, which I once think I joked on Twitter,

485
00:22:21,785 --> 00:22:24,245
was where the, um, Abercrombie

486
00:22:24,245 --> 00:22:27,845
and Fitch store is compared to the JC Penney at the local

487
00:22:28,805 --> 00:22:30,365
shopping establishment mall information.

488
00:22:30,365 --> 00:22:31,645
It was not a very good joke.

489
00:22:31,665 --> 00:22:34,605
And now I have to explain it, and it's even worse.

490
00:22:35,785 --> 00:22:40,685
And so when I wrote malformation today

491
00:22:40,785 --> 00:22:43,725
for this endless speech, uh, my,

492
00:22:43,945 --> 00:22:45,685
my spell checker didn't even know what it was.

493
00:22:45,795 --> 00:22:47,805
Okay? But, and sometimes I also think that

494
00:22:47,915 --> 00:22:50,285
because in government everything sounds better

495
00:22:50,285 --> 00:22:52,245
with three letters, they couldn't just say Miss

496
00:22:52,345 --> 00:22:54,845
and disinformation, they'd say, miss Dis and Malformation.

497
00:22:54,845 --> 00:22:57,325
So they could say, they could shorten it to MDM,

498
00:22:57,335 --> 00:22:58,525
which was a nice acronym.

499
00:22:59,245 --> 00:23:03,005
Regardless, there's misinformation, there's disinformation,

500
00:23:03,005 --> 00:23:05,005
which is a little bit more clearly defined,

501
00:23:05,195 --> 00:23:09,245
that is purposely false information that's spread

502
00:23:09,245 --> 00:23:10,325
with the intent to deceive.

503
00:23:10,325 --> 00:23:12,085
Okay? So that, that, that's what you really used

504
00:23:12,085 --> 00:23:13,085
to call propaganda.

505
00:23:13,465 --> 00:23:15,045
And, and again, um,

506
00:23:15,045 --> 00:23:18,845
there really is no First Amendment bar on disinformation.

507
00:23:18,905 --> 00:23:21,565
But when, you know, when foreign governments are purposely

508
00:23:21,565 --> 00:23:23,925
doing that, I think you can say, okay, that's something

509
00:23:23,925 --> 00:23:27,165
that, you know, the federal government might, uh, you know,

510
00:23:27,195 --> 00:23:30,445
have reason to, to try to push back on,

511
00:23:30,555 --> 00:23:31,765
okay, disinformation.

512
00:23:32,545 --> 00:23:37,085
Um, although again, it's when Americans are doing it,

513
00:23:37,085 --> 00:23:38,525
I would say it's generally protected

514
00:23:38,525 --> 00:23:39,885
and should be by the First Amendment.

515
00:23:40,545 --> 00:23:42,765
Um, but what we're really talking about is

516
00:23:42,765 --> 00:23:44,045
misinformation, right?

517
00:23:44,465 --> 00:23:47,445
And again, the, the more you try to define what that is,

518
00:23:47,585 --> 00:23:48,845
the harder it is to define.

519
00:23:49,045 --> 00:23:52,005
I I would argue that the most honest definition

520
00:23:52,005 --> 00:23:55,605
of misinformation is facts or opinions or data

521
00:23:55,785 --> 00:23:58,325
or reporting that the person who's calling the information

522
00:23:58,325 --> 00:23:59,925
misinformation doesn't like.

523
00:24:00,595 --> 00:24:02,565
Okay? So, you know,

524
00:24:02,695 --> 00:24:05,165
lemme give you a concrete, a concrete example.

525
00:24:06,275 --> 00:24:07,725
This, this statement is true.

526
00:24:08,665 --> 00:24:10,765
The mRNA covid vaccines were rushed out

527
00:24:10,765 --> 00:24:12,925
after only months of human testing, okay?

528
00:24:12,955 --> 00:24:14,205
This statement is also true.

529
00:24:14,625 --> 00:24:16,485
The mRNA covid vaccines are the product

530
00:24:16,505 --> 00:24:17,565
of decades of research.

531
00:24:18,105 --> 00:24:22,885
So those things are both factual, accurate, true statements.

532
00:24:23,025 --> 00:24:25,405
But if you're a vaccine advocate, you're gonna say,

533
00:24:25,825 --> 00:24:27,965
rushed out after weeks of testing that's in,

534
00:24:27,965 --> 00:24:30,325
or months of human testing, that's misinformation.

535
00:24:30,905 --> 00:24:33,565
And I would say the product of decades

536
00:24:33,665 --> 00:24:35,645
of research is really misinformation.

537
00:24:35,645 --> 00:24:38,525
Because, because yes, there were sort

538
00:24:38,525 --> 00:24:40,445
of basic scientific research going on,

539
00:24:40,445 --> 00:24:42,965
but these things are not going into human bodies in any

540
00:24:42,975 --> 00:24:44,725
meaningful way before 2020.

541
00:24:44,985 --> 00:24:46,605
But we, that's an argument, okay?

542
00:24:46,965 --> 00:24:49,485
I don't get to tell you, you don't get to say that

543
00:24:49,515 --> 00:24:52,645
because I don't like it, or it undercuts my argument.

544
00:24:53,215 --> 00:24:55,725
We're having a discussion, we're having a debate.

545
00:24:56,565 --> 00:25:00,325
I am presenting facts that I think help make my case.

546
00:25:00,745 --> 00:25:02,845
You are presenting facts that help make your case.

547
00:25:03,275 --> 00:25:06,165
Hopefully, you know, someone is listening to both of us

548
00:25:06,225 --> 00:25:07,645
and with a semi-open mind,

549
00:25:07,785 --> 00:25:10,525
and maybe we convince that person, maybe we don't.

550
00:25:10,665 --> 00:25:13,285
That's how it should work.

551
00:25:13,725 --> 00:25:15,165
I mean, in my mind, I,

552
00:25:15,285 --> 00:25:18,165
I don't think the government should tell me.

553
00:25:18,805 --> 00:25:22,645
I don't get to speak because I'm making a case it doesn't

554
00:25:22,645 --> 00:25:26,965
like, and I think that's probably the consensus I would hope

555
00:25:26,965 --> 00:25:28,245
of most of the people in this room.

556
00:25:28,385 --> 00:25:31,565
And I think until, you know, 10, 15 years ago,

557
00:25:31,565 --> 00:25:34,045
it was probably the consensus in the United States,

558
00:25:35,145 --> 00:25:38,645
but it's less and less the consensus.

559
00:25:38,685 --> 00:25:41,925
I mean, that, that poll suggests that, again, less than half

560
00:25:41,925 --> 00:25:42,965
of Americans think

561
00:25:42,965 --> 00:25:45,165
that if you're putting out false information,

562
00:25:45,265 --> 00:25:47,165
you should be allowed to do that online.

563
00:25:47,265 --> 00:25:49,645
Now, again, the question is who's defining true and false?

564
00:25:49,975 --> 00:25:51,365
Who's defining misinformation?

565
00:25:52,225 --> 00:25:54,005
Um, and so,

566
00:25:54,625 --> 00:25:57,165
and I also think the irony here is that, you know,

567
00:25:57,165 --> 00:25:59,845
this is a classically liberal position, you know, sort

568
00:25:59,845 --> 00:26:01,125
of small L liberal.

569
00:26:01,395 --> 00:26:05,805
It's also a classically big D democratic position, right?

570
00:26:05,845 --> 00:26:07,565
I mean, this, the, the, the left used

571
00:26:07,565 --> 00:26:09,725
to believe more in free speech than the right, I think.

572
00:26:10,105 --> 00:26:13,485
Um, and you know, the, the A CLU was the ACL U.

573
00:26:13,485 --> 00:26:15,525
They would stand up for unpopular people

574
00:26:15,905 --> 00:26:17,365
and unpopular causes.

575
00:26:17,365 --> 00:26:19,565
They, you know, they said that neo-Nazis had the right

576
00:26:19,565 --> 00:26:23,005
to prote, uh, protest in Illinois in 1979.

577
00:26:23,005 --> 00:26:24,605
That was a, you know, a famous case.

578
00:26:25,265 --> 00:26:29,125
Um, and really, they, they

579
00:26:29,955 --> 00:26:34,285
basically believed in the, you know, in the motto, like,

580
00:26:34,515 --> 00:26:36,405
I'll fight, you know, I'll fight for your right

581
00:26:36,405 --> 00:26:39,245
to say something that I hate, which is not the actual motto,

582
00:26:39,865 --> 00:26:42,325
but I'm sort of, I got about three quarters, right?

583
00:26:42,325 --> 00:26:43,365
Which we'll move forward.

584
00:26:44,265 --> 00:26:47,805
Um, and so, I mean, I think the media has tried to pretend

585
00:26:47,995 --> 00:26:51,725
that this is a bipartisan move away from free speech

586
00:26:51,745 --> 00:26:52,925
and the belief in free speech.

587
00:26:53,225 --> 00:26:55,925
And usually they talk about book bans when they, uh,

588
00:26:56,355 --> 00:26:57,525
when they do that.

589
00:26:58,665 --> 00:27:00,845
And look, I don't like book bans, okay?

590
00:27:01,065 --> 00:27:05,735
Uh, but I think that, I think

591
00:27:05,925 --> 00:27:07,935
that a lot of the information about book bans

592
00:27:07,955 --> 00:27:09,135
is misinformation.

593
00:27:09,895 --> 00:27:12,375
I mean, I think that in general, what we've seen is

594
00:27:12,375 --> 00:27:16,895
that libraries and schools are being asked not to display

595
00:27:18,105 --> 00:27:20,295
books that have some usually sexual content.

596
00:27:20,355 --> 00:27:23,175
And in some cases are, are, you know, intended for

597
00:27:24,305 --> 00:27:27,535
older teenagers, let's say, uh, in places

598
00:27:27,535 --> 00:27:29,295
where younger kids can see them, right?

599
00:27:29,295 --> 00:27:32,055
They're being asked to age restrict them, to hide them.

600
00:27:32,635 --> 00:27:35,375
Um, look, I've, I've got kids

601
00:27:35,595 --> 00:27:37,215
and I don't really have much of a problem with that.

602
00:27:37,215 --> 00:27:38,495
Like, I, I am old enough

603
00:27:38,815 --> 00:27:40,815
to remember when Playboy was at the back

604
00:27:40,815 --> 00:27:43,215
of the seven 11 at the top, and it was wrapped in plastic,

605
00:27:43,315 --> 00:27:45,935
and you couldn't, you, you know, like, what, what is that?

606
00:27:46,465 --> 00:27:47,935
Right? You couldn't really get to it.

607
00:27:48,055 --> 00:27:50,615
I mean, now, sometimes, uh, you know,

608
00:27:50,615 --> 00:27:52,015
groups have gone further than that,

609
00:27:52,015 --> 00:27:53,935
and they've tried to, you know, essentially force libraries

610
00:27:53,935 --> 00:27:55,135
either not to buy books

611
00:27:55,155 --> 00:27:58,135
or to, uh, DEAC acquisition books that they already have.

612
00:27:58,355 --> 00:28:00,935
And I, I actually don't support that. Okay?

613
00:28:00,975 --> 00:28:02,695
I think in general, you hire a librarian,

614
00:28:02,695 --> 00:28:04,895
you should let them do the job that you hired them to do.

615
00:28:05,395 --> 00:28:07,815
Um, and if that includes some books

616
00:28:07,815 --> 00:28:10,175
that you don't really like, so be it.

617
00:28:10,355 --> 00:28:13,775
Um, but even when those cases succeed,

618
00:28:15,645 --> 00:28:18,135
what you have generally is a conservative community saying,

619
00:28:18,275 --> 00:28:21,215
we don't want to give public money tax money.

620
00:28:21,415 --> 00:28:23,055
'cause libraries are funded with tax dollars,

621
00:28:23,065 --> 00:28:25,335
which is the fact that librarians sometimes conveniently

622
00:28:25,335 --> 00:28:28,575
forget to, you know, to buy books that they,

623
00:28:28,725 --> 00:28:31,055
that they think are antithetical to the community's values.

624
00:28:31,635 --> 00:28:35,015
So, would I do that? No, I would not do that.

625
00:28:35,475 --> 00:28:37,295
But that's not a book ban, okay?

626
00:28:37,345 --> 00:28:39,615
These books are still openly promoted.

627
00:28:39,615 --> 00:28:42,135
They're available for sale anywhere in the United States,

628
00:28:42,275 --> 00:28:44,255
and of course you can continue to possess them.

629
00:28:44,675 --> 00:28:46,175
So calling it a ban to me,

630
00:28:46,235 --> 00:28:48,095
is almost an Orwellian use of language.

631
00:28:48,715 --> 00:28:52,575
The, the pressure on free speech is really coming from

632
00:28:52,575 --> 00:28:53,615
the left, okay?

633
00:28:53,615 --> 00:28:56,615
It's not about a few books or, you know, a bunch of books.

634
00:28:57,435 --> 00:28:59,375
And, and, and, and I, and,

635
00:28:59,675 --> 00:29:02,415
and, you know, I know there have been a few other things

636
00:29:02,415 --> 00:29:03,855
that people on the right have done.

637
00:29:04,315 --> 00:29:06,575
You know, in some cases they've gone after some professors.

638
00:29:06,615 --> 00:29:08,055
I don't, I don't particularly like that either.

639
00:29:08,055 --> 00:29:09,255
I don't think that's a great idea.

640
00:29:09,435 --> 00:29:13,375
Um, uh, you know, academic freedom

641
00:29:13,985 --> 00:29:15,935
means the right to publish nonsense

642
00:29:16,075 --> 00:29:18,575
and not have the governor yell at you about it, I think.

643
00:29:19,035 --> 00:29:22,495
Um, but so the, the left has really come at this,

644
00:29:22,795 --> 00:29:24,055
uh, aggressively.

645
00:29:24,635 --> 00:29:29,015
And, and they've also begun to use defamation, uh, uh,

646
00:29:29,555 --> 00:29:31,295
law in a somewhat aggressive way.

647
00:29:31,455 --> 00:29:35,055
I have a long sort of explanation of a recent case in dc

648
00:29:35,115 --> 00:29:37,455
but I've already been talking for quite some time,

649
00:29:37,475 --> 00:29:39,095
and I don't want to go into that too deeply

650
00:29:39,295 --> 00:29:40,495
'cause I wanna get a little bit more into

651
00:29:40,495 --> 00:29:41,520
the facts of my, my own case.

652
00:29:42,385 --> 00:29:45,085
Um, so,

653
00:29:46,945 --> 00:29:51,405
so this all sort of, I became part of this fight, um,

654
00:29:51,685 --> 00:29:54,365
I would say almost unwillingly, uh, uh,

655
00:29:55,915 --> 00:29:57,165
beginning in 2020.

656
00:29:57,505 --> 00:30:02,395
Um, and,

657
00:30:02,615 --> 00:30:05,115
and I think, I mean, I think the left sort

658
00:30:05,115 --> 00:30:10,035
of fury about free speech really accelerated in 2016, right?

659
00:30:10,265 --> 00:30:12,715
With, with the election of Donald Trump, right?

660
00:30:12,765 --> 00:30:15,515
There was, there was a lot of, I mean, listen, I, I was,

661
00:30:15,935 --> 00:30:17,275
you know, I, I live in New York.

662
00:30:17,715 --> 00:30:19,435
I remember actually I was in, um,

663
00:30:20,195 --> 00:30:24,275
I was in la I was in Hollywood for meetings, um, uh,

664
00:30:24,725 --> 00:30:26,835
about my novels, which, uh,

665
00:30:27,835 --> 00:30:28,955
I think at this point are never

666
00:30:28,955 --> 00:30:30,035
gonna get turned into movies.

667
00:30:30,175 --> 00:30:31,635
But who knows, um,

668
00:30:31,815 --> 00:30:33,995
I'm probably not doing them any good with this stuff.

669
00:30:34,055 --> 00:30:37,555
But, um, and those meetings, it was the day

670
00:30:37,605 --> 00:30:40,875
after the election and people canceled the meetings.

671
00:30:40,995 --> 00:30:43,315
'cause they were just too torn up about Donald Trump

672
00:30:43,315 --> 00:30:44,435
having this actually happened.

673
00:30:44,465 --> 00:30:46,275
They got postponed to the next day.

674
00:30:46,815 --> 00:30:51,435
Um, so, so, you know,

675
00:30:51,435 --> 00:30:53,115
the left became very angry.

676
00:30:53,415 --> 00:30:54,555
And they weren't just angry at Trump.

677
00:30:54,555 --> 00:30:56,915
They were angry at all. The people who voted for him, who,

678
00:30:57,055 --> 00:31:01,915
who, you know, had interrupted, um, Hillary's sort

679
00:31:01,915 --> 00:31:05,435
of inevitable death march to the White House.

680
00:31:06,595 --> 00:31:08,435
I, I remember, uh, there was a,

681
00:31:08,435 --> 00:31:10,875
there's this article in the Onion in 2015,

682
00:31:11,135 --> 00:31:14,435
the Onion being these empirical website, uh, where,

683
00:31:14,575 --> 00:31:15,835
and the headline was something like,

684
00:31:15,835 --> 00:31:17,315
Hillary Clinton tells Americans

685
00:31:17,315 --> 00:31:18,475
not to screw this up for her.

686
00:31:18,975 --> 00:31:21,835
And that really was the feeling in a lot of 2016.

687
00:31:21,935 --> 00:31:25,435
But you know, this, this, this, this, this guy,

688
00:31:25,435 --> 00:31:27,395
whoever went in New York, thinks it's a joke,

689
00:31:27,765 --> 00:31:30,035
comes down the escalator and takes it from her.

690
00:31:30,155 --> 00:31:33,195
I mean, people, people were insanely angry, okay?

691
00:31:33,825 --> 00:31:37,195
They were also angry, uh, about Brexit, okay?

692
00:31:37,215 --> 00:31:39,075
So Brexit happened the same year.

693
00:31:39,395 --> 00:31:40,835
Americans don't really remember as much,

694
00:31:40,855 --> 00:31:44,315
but this is, you know, the British people voting

695
00:31:44,335 --> 00:31:47,315
to leave the European Union undoing the great project

696
00:31:47,375 --> 00:31:49,715
of European elites for the last 75 years,

697
00:31:49,975 --> 00:31:51,355
you know, European Union.

698
00:31:52,095 --> 00:31:55,475
And so it was the year when the elites,

699
00:31:56,095 --> 00:31:57,155
mostly on the left,

700
00:31:57,215 --> 00:31:59,155
but also on the right, realized that they had kind

701
00:31:59,155 --> 00:32:02,315
of lost control of their ability to set the terms

702
00:32:02,415 --> 00:32:03,475
of the debate, right?

703
00:32:03,475 --> 00:32:04,835
Which is, there's, there's this idea

704
00:32:04,835 --> 00:32:06,115
of something called the Overton Window.

705
00:32:06,115 --> 00:32:08,755
There's a guy named Joseph Overton who died in 2003.

706
00:32:09,215 --> 00:32:13,595
He was actually a conservative, um, academic in Michigan.

707
00:32:14,175 --> 00:32:17,195
And he had this idea that at any given time,

708
00:32:18,145 --> 00:32:19,635
there's a certain sort of

709
00:32:20,365 --> 00:32:22,755
space in political discourse that's acceptable.

710
00:32:23,015 --> 00:32:26,035
So, so the person who says we're gonna, um, you know,

711
00:32:26,655 --> 00:32:27,995
defund the entire military

712
00:32:28,135 --> 00:32:31,315
and just, uh, you know, hope for the best, can't win.

713
00:32:31,575 --> 00:32:33,155
And the person who says, well, we're gonna, you know,

714
00:32:33,155 --> 00:32:34,835
as soon as I'm elected, I'm gonna hit the button

715
00:32:34,835 --> 00:32:37,435
and we're gonna, new Shanghai can't win either, right?

716
00:32:37,435 --> 00:32:40,525
There's, there's a, there's an acceptable, uh,

717
00:32:40,665 --> 00:32:41,765
window of discourse.

718
00:32:41,795 --> 00:32:43,365
It's always shifting. Um,

719
00:32:43,505 --> 00:32:46,815
but it's sort of controlled by the people

720
00:32:46,955 --> 00:32:48,655
who, who are in charge.

721
00:32:48,975 --> 00:32:51,855
I mean, not, not, not in any conspiratorial way, just

722
00:32:51,855 --> 00:32:55,735
because that's kind of what being in charge is, right?

723
00:32:56,435 --> 00:32:59,015
And so, so in 2016,

724
00:32:59,395 --> 00:33:02,615
Donald Trump threw the Overton window out the window, and,

725
00:33:03,075 --> 00:33:05,335
and the same thing happened in the uk, right?

726
00:33:05,335 --> 00:33:07,975
Nobody serious in DC whether they were Republican

727
00:33:08,075 --> 00:33:10,735
or a Democrat, wanted Donald Trump to win in 2016.

728
00:33:10,895 --> 00:33:14,135
I think that's, that's a pretty easy statement to make.

729
00:33:14,555 --> 00:33:18,855
And nobody in London wanted the, who, you know, at the top

730
00:33:18,855 --> 00:33:22,695
of the, either the Tory or the Labor Party wanted, uh, the,

731
00:33:23,195 --> 00:33:25,215
the u UK to leave Brexit.

732
00:33:25,325 --> 00:33:27,655
Okay? So these, these were shocks to the system, right?

733
00:33:27,655 --> 00:33:30,095
And there was this idea of what happened here?

734
00:33:30,235 --> 00:33:33,015
How did this happen? And, you know,

735
00:33:33,155 --> 00:33:37,335
the elites saw social media as fueling the problem,

736
00:33:37,675 --> 00:33:39,535
and they're really the biggest reason

737
00:33:39,535 --> 00:33:40,735
that they had lost control.

738
00:33:41,235 --> 00:33:42,375
And I, and I think that's true.

739
00:33:43,035 --> 00:33:47,535
Um, you know, the, the joke in the Simpsons, uh, is

740
00:33:47,535 --> 00:33:49,135
that alcohol is the cause of,

741
00:33:49,135 --> 00:33:51,175
and the solution to all life's problems.

742
00:33:51,175 --> 00:33:53,335
And that's sort of even more true

743
00:33:53,455 --> 00:33:55,415
of social media than it is of alcohol.

744
00:33:56,035 --> 00:33:59,975
Um, so, so people

745
00:34:01,475 --> 00:34:03,855
in academia and in the media,

746
00:34:04,715 --> 00:34:07,015
and some people in government too, actually in, you know,

747
00:34:07,015 --> 00:34:09,575
in the sort of permanent bureaucratic state started

748
00:34:09,575 --> 00:34:13,455
to pay real attention to social media as, you know,

749
00:34:13,555 --> 00:34:16,375
how can we control the discourse on it?

750
00:34:16,835 --> 00:34:18,535
Um, and so,

751
00:34:21,205 --> 00:34:23,905
but Trump, you know, Trump loves social media

752
00:34:24,365 --> 00:34:27,745
and wasn't interested in, uh, you know, lots

753
00:34:27,745 --> 00:34:31,745
of meetings about, uh, misinformation or disinformation.

754
00:34:32,285 --> 00:34:33,865
So they had sort of limited power.

755
00:34:34,125 --> 00:34:38,105
And then in 2020, this all came to a head with Covid, right?

756
00:34:39,485 --> 00:34:42,985
So maybe there are people in this room who have forgotten

757
00:34:43,165 --> 00:34:46,745
or blocked out what really started almost exactly four years

758
00:34:46,765 --> 00:34:51,425
ago to the day, how we had unprecedented

759
00:34:51,965 --> 00:34:55,705
anti-democratic lockdowns that had never been conceived of

760
00:34:56,245 --> 00:34:57,985
by, by public health officials.

761
00:34:58,325 --> 00:35:02,105
Really, they were, they were, uh, they were

762
00:35:03,165 --> 00:35:05,265
viewed as unlikely to work

763
00:35:05,845 --> 00:35:08,185
and as likely to cause panic

764
00:35:08,805 --> 00:35:10,985
and as unlikely, unlikely

765
00:35:11,085 --> 00:35:15,185
to really affect the long-term outcome of a, of a virus,

766
00:35:15,365 --> 00:35:17,225
anyway, a respiratory virus.

767
00:35:17,645 --> 00:35:21,265
Um, and, uh, I mean, this was, this was not,

768
00:35:21,335 --> 00:35:23,545
this was the sort of standard position.

769
00:35:23,845 --> 00:35:26,505
And that even a, a virus that, you know, killed five

770
00:35:26,505 --> 00:35:28,905
or 10% of the US population, which, I mean,

771
00:35:28,905 --> 00:35:31,385
that's an unthinkable death toll, right?

772
00:35:31,385 --> 00:35:33,465
I mean, that, that, that, that's 15 or 20

773
00:35:33,525 --> 00:35:34,545
or 30 million people.

774
00:35:35,085 --> 00:35:38,765
Um, you, you would have really limited lockdowns

775
00:35:38,765 --> 00:35:39,805
to the extent you could.

776
00:35:40,125 --> 00:35:44,645
I mean, maybe, maybe 10% is, uh, I don't know

777
00:35:44,645 --> 00:35:46,285
that they conceived of it that level, but,

778
00:35:46,385 --> 00:35:47,885
but viruses, that, that,

779
00:35:48,395 --> 00:35:51,325
that were far more lethal than covid, okay?

780
00:35:51,905 --> 00:35:55,405
And, and in March, 2020, that all got thrown out the window,

781
00:35:55,675 --> 00:35:58,485
this idea of we are gonna, we're gonna allow society

782
00:35:58,505 --> 00:36:01,525
to function, and we have a very, you know, robust,

783
00:36:01,525 --> 00:36:02,805
expensive medical system.

784
00:36:03,185 --> 00:36:05,125
No, it was, we need to do this.

785
00:36:05,185 --> 00:36:07,325
We need to do it immediately, two weeks

786
00:36:07,345 --> 00:36:10,965
to flatten the curve, um, which, which went on and on

787
00:36:11,145 --> 00:36:14,045
and on, not so much here, here, it just went on other places

788
00:36:14,205 --> 00:36:15,525
that went on and on and on.

789
00:36:16,305 --> 00:36:20,925
And so what was

790
00:36:20,985 --> 00:36:24,685
so stunning was how much people supported this, right?

791
00:36:24,905 --> 00:36:27,965
The, the, the elites wanted it,

792
00:36:28,065 --> 00:36:30,765
but everybody basically was on board for the first couple

793
00:36:30,825 --> 00:36:31,965
of weeks, I think be

794
00:36:31,965 --> 00:36:33,805
before people really understood that,

795
00:36:33,915 --> 00:36:36,085
that the threat was overstated, the threat of Covid.

796
00:36:36,745 --> 00:36:40,045
Um, but there was tremendous, uh,

797
00:36:42,305 --> 00:36:45,725
public, there was a tremendous effort

798
00:36:45,745 --> 00:36:49,645
to coerce slash convince the public of, of the necessity

799
00:36:49,665 --> 00:36:50,885
of lockdowns, right?

800
00:36:51,425 --> 00:36:54,645
Um, and it wasn't just from the media or the ac or academia

801
00:36:54,785 --> 00:36:56,085
or the public health establishment.

802
00:36:56,085 --> 00:36:58,685
There are private companies like Google and Facebook.

803
00:36:59,195 --> 00:37:00,525
They spent billions

804
00:37:00,525 --> 00:37:02,285
and billions of dollars to convince you

805
00:37:02,285 --> 00:37:03,965
that you should stay home, right?

806
00:37:03,965 --> 00:37:05,965
And, and some of these companies profited enormously

807
00:37:05,995 --> 00:37:07,085
from the lockdowns.

808
00:37:07,745 --> 00:37:10,685
Um, you know, I think Donald Trump briefly tried

809
00:37:10,685 --> 00:37:12,165
to stand up, uh,

810
00:37:12,305 --> 00:37:15,485
and say that he didn't, uh, think this was a good idea.

811
00:37:15,505 --> 00:37:16,685
And he, you know, he got rolled.

812
00:37:16,825 --> 00:37:18,605
And I, he was, he was, he was nervous.

813
00:37:18,825 --> 00:37:21,965
And again, I think he was, you know, he was being told,

814
00:37:22,665 --> 00:37:24,765
you know, he was being given worst case scenarios that he,

815
00:37:26,395 --> 00:37:27,965
that he responded to.

816
00:37:28,545 --> 00:37:32,525
Um, and so we did, we locked down in this unexpected,

817
00:37:32,595 --> 00:37:34,645
unprecedented way, almost overnight.

818
00:37:35,545 --> 00:37:39,925
And, and, you know, into, I would say early April,

819
00:37:40,225 --> 00:37:41,245
that's where we were.

820
00:37:42,105 --> 00:37:45,565
But a lot of Americans, especially rural Americans,

821
00:37:45,855 --> 00:37:47,765
especially Americans who live in the South,

822
00:37:48,095 --> 00:37:50,645
especially small business owners, you know,

823
00:37:50,755 --> 00:37:53,565
they don't really like to be told what to do that much.

824
00:37:53,595 --> 00:37:55,325
They don't, they don't love government

825
00:37:55,325 --> 00:37:56,365
necessarily that much.

826
00:37:57,065 --> 00:38:00,045
And I don't know where I fit in any of those categories,

827
00:38:00,045 --> 00:38:01,605
but I definitely don't like to be told what to do.

828
00:38:02,345 --> 00:38:06,815
So, so within,

829
00:38:07,395 --> 00:38:10,215
you know, within a few weeks, within really late March

830
00:38:10,355 --> 00:38:13,455
of 2020, Twitter was the place

831
00:38:13,505 --> 00:38:15,615
where we all found each other.

832
00:38:16,835 --> 00:38:20,135
And, and the biggest, you know, voice on Twitter,

833
00:38:20,395 --> 00:38:22,895
who doesn't like to be told what to do is now the guy

834
00:38:22,895 --> 00:38:23,895
who owns it, right?

835
00:38:24,315 --> 00:38:26,255
No one tells Elon Musk what to do.

836
00:38:26,755 --> 00:38:28,615
And Elon is a very smart guy,

837
00:38:29,355 --> 00:38:32,455
and very rapidly understood what was going on.

838
00:38:34,075 --> 00:38:38,645
And so, so we started to, you know, argue

839
00:38:38,755 --> 00:38:42,805
that this was a mistake and an over response,

840
00:38:43,665 --> 00:38:47,805
and that you couldn't control a respiratory virus this way

841
00:38:47,805 --> 00:38:50,525
anyway, and that it was probably unconstitutional.

842
00:38:51,345 --> 00:38:54,845
And, you know, this became what I call in Pandia,

843
00:38:54,845 --> 00:38:57,365
which I hope you all buy, uh, since amazing,

844
00:38:57,465 --> 00:38:58,565
I'm amazed they showed up here.

845
00:38:58,565 --> 00:39:01,805
It's great. Um, uh, team reality.

846
00:39:02,145 --> 00:39:03,365
So there was team reality

847
00:39:03,385 --> 00:39:06,085
and team Apocalypse, um, team Apocalypse were the people

848
00:39:06,085 --> 00:39:08,405
who thought that this really was smallpox team reality,

849
00:39:08,405 --> 00:39:09,805
were the people who were looking at the data.

850
00:39:10,425 --> 00:39:12,085
Um, I, I think

851
00:39:12,165 --> 00:39:14,325
that people on the other side called themselves team

852
00:39:14,325 --> 00:39:16,805
reality, and us, you know, team don't care about grandma.

853
00:39:17,425 --> 00:39:20,685
Um, but, you know, misinformation, one,

854
00:39:20,745 --> 00:39:23,525
one man's information is another woman's disinformation

855
00:39:23,585 --> 00:39:25,125
as anybody who's ever been married knows.

856
00:39:25,825 --> 00:39:29,365
Um, so, so team reality was,

857
00:39:29,385 --> 00:39:31,805
was really not very large even into April.

858
00:39:31,885 --> 00:39:33,045
I don't know if you remember the way

859
00:39:33,045 --> 00:39:35,845
that protestors in Michigan got treated when they showed up

860
00:39:35,845 --> 00:39:38,005
at the Michigan State Capitol, but,

861
00:39:38,945 --> 00:39:40,285
but in the South it was bigger.

862
00:39:40,585 --> 00:39:41,885
And in Florida it was bigger.

863
00:39:42,105 --> 00:39:43,765
And in Florida, it was big enough

864
00:39:44,235 --> 00:39:47,325
that when Ron DeSantis said he was gonna reopen at the end

865
00:39:47,325 --> 00:39:49,885
of April, after that very brief lockdown,

866
00:39:50,425 --> 00:39:51,725
nobody could really stop him.

867
00:39:51,825 --> 00:39:54,205
And, you know, this is the genius of the U US system.

868
00:39:54,235 --> 00:39:56,965
It's a federal system. Um, the states have a lot

869
00:39:56,965 --> 00:39:59,525
of authority, and nobody could keep Ron

870
00:39:59,525 --> 00:40:00,765
DeSantis from reopening.

871
00:40:01,145 --> 00:40:04,125
And that, that proved in some ways the most important thing

872
00:40:04,595 --> 00:40:06,725
that happened with Covid in 2020,

873
00:40:06,835 --> 00:40:10,725
because the media never mentions this,

874
00:40:10,725 --> 00:40:13,405
but they predicted an absolute apocalypse when

875
00:40:13,405 --> 00:40:14,605
Florida reopened.

876
00:40:14,955 --> 00:40:18,285
Okay? There was an article in the Washington Post at one

877
00:40:18,285 --> 00:40:19,845
point suggesting that Ron DeSantis should

878
00:40:19,845 --> 00:40:20,965
be tried for manslaughter.

879
00:40:21,545 --> 00:40:22,725
And it's not an exaggeration.

880
00:40:23,345 --> 00:40:27,325
It was a, it was an opinion piece. But, um, and guess what?

881
00:40:27,325 --> 00:40:29,725
There was no apocalypse in Florida. Florida had deaths.

882
00:40:29,725 --> 00:40:32,205
California had deaths. New York had deaths.

883
00:40:32,405 --> 00:40:35,045
Everyone had deaths. They were all in a pretty limited band

884
00:40:35,065 --> 00:40:37,405
if you age, adjust, you know,

885
00:40:37,995 --> 00:40:40,125
Florida was right in the middle, okay?

886
00:40:40,665 --> 00:40:42,645
And so that really proved

887
00:40:43,355 --> 00:40:45,685
that everyone could have done it the way Florida did.

888
00:40:45,785 --> 00:40:47,845
It proved that the lockdowns were a choice,

889
00:40:48,125 --> 00:40:51,325
a political choice, not a medical necessity, okay?

890
00:40:52,225 --> 00:40:56,285
Um, And so

891
00:40:57,715 --> 00:41:00,365
that wasn't because of Twitter, Ron DeSantis decided that,

892
00:41:00,385 --> 00:41:04,725
but Twitter and Joe Rogan and Elon,

893
00:41:05,105 --> 00:41:07,325
and, you know, Jay Bachar,

894
00:41:07,745 --> 00:41:11,485
and, you know, there were a few of us out there who,

895
00:41:11,865 --> 00:41:13,725
who helped a little bit, I think,

896
00:41:14,465 --> 00:41:18,005
and that infuriated the people

897
00:41:18,065 --> 00:41:19,725
who had already been infuriated

898
00:41:19,725 --> 00:41:21,605
that Donald Trump had been elected president.

899
00:41:21,875 --> 00:41:24,325
This, this was a real example of social media

900
00:41:25,125 --> 00:41:27,165
standing alone against everything

901
00:41:27,265 --> 00:41:30,765
and having some political societal impact.

902
00:41:31,705 --> 00:41:33,885
And so these, these people were mad,

903
00:41:35,025 --> 00:41:39,125
and they really wanted people like me to get banned.

904
00:41:39,385 --> 00:41:40,885
And, you know, people, people said bad

905
00:41:40,885 --> 00:41:41,925
things about me publicly.

906
00:41:42,065 --> 00:41:45,325
People went to Twitter privately, there was a lot of push.

907
00:41:45,385 --> 00:41:48,645
And Twitter didn't take any action against me.

908
00:41:48,745 --> 00:41:51,365
In fact, the opposite Twitter came to me

909
00:41:51,365 --> 00:41:52,845
and said, keep going.

910
00:41:53,165 --> 00:41:54,685
I mean, they, they didn't say like, we like

911
00:41:54,685 --> 00:41:56,445
what you're doing, but they said, we think there's an

912
00:41:56,445 --> 00:41:57,965
important debate to be had here.

913
00:41:58,225 --> 00:42:00,245
You're helping with that, so keep going.

914
00:42:00,335 --> 00:42:01,805
Which proved crucial later.

915
00:42:02,385 --> 00:42:04,565
Um, and I mean, it's no accident.

916
00:42:04,565 --> 00:42:08,445
Twitter, Twitter's always been the most pro free speech

917
00:42:08,445 --> 00:42:09,965
of all the social media sites.

918
00:42:10,545 --> 00:42:14,285
Um, famously it once called itself the free speech wing

919
00:42:14,285 --> 00:42:15,445
of the free speech party.

920
00:42:16,025 --> 00:42:19,765
Um, and even though its DNA was shifting by 2020,

921
00:42:19,825 --> 00:42:22,605
it was becoming more like the rest

922
00:42:22,625 --> 00:42:25,085
of woke Silicon Valley slash San Francisco.

923
00:42:25,115 --> 00:42:28,125
What, what Elon likes to call the woke mind virus.

924
00:42:28,355 --> 00:42:31,005
Twitter had a little more immunity to

925
00:42:31,005 --> 00:42:32,125
that than the other sites.

926
00:42:32,705 --> 00:42:36,285
Um, and so, so that's where we were. We were on Twitter.

927
00:42:37,145 --> 00:42:39,605
And so in, in June, 2020,

928
00:42:40,395 --> 00:42:43,165
when Amazon wouldn't publish the first booklet that I wrote,

929
00:42:43,165 --> 00:42:46,805
the first Unreported Truth booklet, um, uh,

930
00:42:48,835 --> 00:42:50,125
Elon Musk went on Twitter

931
00:42:50,305 --> 00:42:53,485
and said, Hey, you know, Amazon's a monopoly.

932
00:42:53,485 --> 00:42:55,885
This is crazy. Amazon should be broken off. And guess what?

933
00:42:55,885 --> 00:42:57,685
Three hours later, Amazon started,

934
00:42:57,915 --> 00:42:59,285
said they dropped the band

935
00:42:59,285 --> 00:43:00,565
and they were gonna publish my book.

936
00:43:00,955 --> 00:43:03,565
Okay? And a quarter million people bought that booklet.

937
00:43:04,065 --> 00:43:06,365
So, you know, that mattered.

938
00:43:06,385 --> 00:43:09,285
And, and it was because of Twitter and because of Elon, and

939
00:43:09,285 --> 00:43:12,085
because, because we were able to stand

940
00:43:12,155 --> 00:43:14,165
outside the establishment a little bit.

941
00:43:15,665 --> 00:43:15,885
Um,

942
00:43:18,795 --> 00:43:20,815
so, so that's where we were.

943
00:43:21,275 --> 00:43:24,295
And then Joe Biden came into office

944
00:43:25,675 --> 00:43:28,335
and, you know, in, in 20, well,

945
00:43:28,955 --> 00:43:30,255
before they had the White House,

946
00:43:30,255 --> 00:43:33,655
they couldn't really do anything much about social media.

947
00:43:34,155 --> 00:43:37,095
The, the people on the left who didn't like this sort

948
00:43:37,095 --> 00:43:39,935
of unruly argument that was happening about Covid

949
00:43:40,075 --> 00:43:43,815
or all the other stuff that had happened, um, then,

950
00:43:44,125 --> 00:43:45,375
then Joe Biden got elected

951
00:43:46,195 --> 00:43:49,495
and suddenly they had far more power, right?

952
00:43:49,495 --> 00:43:52,215
There's no, there's no comparison between White House power

953
00:43:52,595 --> 00:43:54,895
and the rest of government power, right?

954
00:43:54,895 --> 00:43:58,135
There's this, a senator speaker of the house.

955
00:43:58,155 --> 00:43:59,855
It doesn't matter. You're in the White House,

956
00:43:59,855 --> 00:44:01,415
you're in the Executive Branch.

957
00:44:02,125 --> 00:44:04,175
It's a different place.

958
00:44:05,195 --> 00:44:08,375
And they knew it, and the companies knew it.

959
00:44:10,675 --> 00:44:14,935
And this happened as the mRNAs were getting ready

960
00:44:14,995 --> 00:44:16,175
for rollout, okay?

961
00:44:16,435 --> 00:44:20,295
And I don't wanna have a big discussion about mRNA safety

962
00:44:20,295 --> 00:44:23,975
and efficacy, but it is enough to say that

963
00:44:25,065 --> 00:44:28,045
the same people who had been pushing the idea

964
00:44:28,045 --> 00:44:31,125
that Covid was something so deadly that society needed

965
00:44:31,705 --> 00:44:33,325
to close down for it.

966
00:44:33,435 --> 00:44:34,525
They needed a way out.

967
00:44:34,985 --> 00:44:38,365
Now, now, they had a president who was their president.

968
00:44:38,755 --> 00:44:40,725
They didn't want the economy stuck.

969
00:44:40,725 --> 00:44:42,765
They didn't want schools closed. They needed a way out.

970
00:44:42,945 --> 00:44:45,125
And they had what they claimed was a magic bullet.

971
00:44:45,265 --> 00:44:47,605
And what the first round of clinical trials,

972
00:44:47,705 --> 00:44:51,005
the big clinical trials said was a magic bullet, okay?

973
00:44:51,355 --> 00:44:54,325
They started the pandemic, they were gonna end the pandemic,

974
00:44:54,665 --> 00:44:56,445
and they were gonna end it with the mRNAs.

975
00:44:56,555 --> 00:44:59,125
That was, again, I'm not saying it was a conspiracy,

976
00:44:59,225 --> 00:45:03,125
but it's clearly how things set up, okay?

977
00:45:03,665 --> 00:45:06,445
And not, it's also really important to understand.

978
00:45:06,465 --> 00:45:08,805
It wasn't just we're gonna end covid with vaccines.

979
00:45:08,895 --> 00:45:10,645
We're gonna end covid with these vaccines.

980
00:45:10,645 --> 00:45:14,245
These vaccines are American, they're American designed.

981
00:45:14,945 --> 00:45:17,045
Yes, Pfizer was in business with BioNTech,

982
00:45:17,065 --> 00:45:18,245
but most if

983
00:45:18,425 --> 00:45:20,605
of the crucial research was done in the United States,

984
00:45:20,665 --> 00:45:24,485
or a lot of it American made, American paid for,

985
00:45:24,585 --> 00:45:26,285
for the most part, they're, they were ours.

986
00:45:26,285 --> 00:45:27,845
They're better than the Chinese vaccine,

987
00:45:27,905 --> 00:45:29,125
better than the Indian vaccine,

988
00:45:29,225 --> 00:45:31,245
better than the Russian vaccine.

989
00:45:32,105 --> 00:45:34,845
We, we are gonna fix this problem.

990
00:45:35,545 --> 00:45:40,475
And, and that was definitely part

991
00:45:40,475 --> 00:45:43,995
of what was fueling the, the push.

992
00:45:44,675 --> 00:45:46,635
I mean, beyond the fact that, you know, again, it was,

993
00:45:46,685 --> 00:45:48,635
let's get these in arms, let's get people,

994
00:45:48,805 --> 00:45:50,275
let's end this right?

995
00:45:51,895 --> 00:45:54,955
By the way, I'll skip that 'cause it's too vaccine centered.

996
00:45:55,655 --> 00:46:00,475
Um, but so I,

997
00:46:03,195 --> 00:46:06,135
so I didn't like the way the clinical trials had been run.

998
00:46:06,285 --> 00:46:08,375
That was my first objection to the vaccines.

999
00:46:08,435 --> 00:46:10,335
And I covered the drug industry

1000
00:46:10,335 --> 00:46:12,535
for the New York Times for a long time.

1001
00:46:13,195 --> 00:46:15,295
So I knew something about the companies,

1002
00:46:15,295 --> 00:46:17,215
and I knew something about the games they played,

1003
00:46:17,435 --> 00:46:19,415
and I knew something about the clinical trials,

1004
00:46:19,835 --> 00:46:21,695
or that more than anything else,

1005
00:46:21,925 --> 00:46:24,855
what drug companies are good at is designing clinical trials

1006
00:46:24,855 --> 00:46:26,135
to get the results that they want.

1007
00:46:26,365 --> 00:46:29,775
Okay? And the most crucial fact about the vaccine clinical

1008
00:46:29,775 --> 00:46:32,095
trials, the mRNA clinical trials, isn't just

1009
00:46:32,095 --> 00:46:34,655
that they were very short for,

1010
00:46:36,045 --> 00:46:37,255
they're very short, in my opinion.

1011
00:46:37,315 --> 00:46:39,615
But put that aside, that's, we can argue with that.

1012
00:46:41,365 --> 00:46:44,055
They included almost no one over 80.

1013
00:46:45,175 --> 00:46:47,175
I mean, there were 70,000 people in those trials,

1014
00:46:47,235 --> 00:46:49,575
and I think there are fewer than a hundred people under 80.

1015
00:46:50,405 --> 00:46:53,855
That is incredibly relevant because the people who get sick

1016
00:46:53,855 --> 00:46:57,855
and die from Covid in Europe had an average age, age of 82,

1017
00:46:57,965 --> 00:47:00,015
even in the US where we had more comorbidities.

1018
00:47:00,015 --> 00:47:01,415
So we had slightly younger,

1019
00:47:01,575 --> 00:47:04,495
I think we were in the 76, 77 range, okay?

1020
00:47:05,915 --> 00:47:08,965
That meant that they weren't testing the vaccines on.

1021
00:47:09,505 --> 00:47:11,845
And by the way, you know, it's not like there were 30,000

1022
00:47:11,845 --> 00:47:13,285
people between 70 and 80.

1023
00:47:13,285 --> 00:47:14,925
There was, there was almost nobody between 70

1024
00:47:14,945 --> 00:47:16,205
and 80 either, okay?

1025
00:47:17,625 --> 00:47:21,165
We didn't test the vaccines on the people who needed them.

1026
00:47:21,955 --> 00:47:24,485
They tested the vaccines on people who were likely

1027
00:47:24,485 --> 00:47:27,685
to have a, the most positive antibody response

1028
00:47:28,305 --> 00:47:31,765
and who were likely, uh, to be able

1029
00:47:31,765 --> 00:47:32,925
to tolerate the side effects

1030
00:47:33,145 --> 00:47:34,645
or who they thought would be most likely

1031
00:47:34,645 --> 00:47:35,645
to tolerate the side effects.

1032
00:47:35,875 --> 00:47:37,325
They did that knowing

1033
00:47:38,075 --> 00:47:40,405
that they were gonna get a lot strong antibody response,

1034
00:47:40,705 --> 00:47:42,445
and I don't think they thought 95%,

1035
00:47:42,445 --> 00:47:44,125
but I thought they were gonna have an approvable product

1036
00:47:44,315 --> 00:47:46,045
once they set up the trials that way.

1037
00:47:46,515 --> 00:47:47,765
Okay? It's not illegal.

1038
00:47:48,395 --> 00:47:50,685
It's what drug companies are really good at,

1039
00:47:51,305 --> 00:47:53,365
and sometimes the regulators push back on them.

1040
00:47:53,665 --> 00:47:57,525
But the regulator who began operation,

1041
00:47:57,705 --> 00:48:00,885
but the person who came up with operation warp speed

1042
00:48:01,955 --> 00:48:05,655
in 2020 was Peter Marks, Dr. Peter Marks

1043
00:48:06,235 --> 00:48:09,255
is the FDA regulator who approved the vaccines,

1044
00:48:09,575 --> 00:48:10,615
ultimately, okay?

1045
00:48:10,915 --> 00:48:13,015
So he was tasting his own cooking.

1046
00:48:13,685 --> 00:48:15,615
That was a signal failure.

1047
00:48:16,035 --> 00:48:19,215
It should never, ever have been allowed to happen, okay?

1048
00:48:19,235 --> 00:48:21,175
He, he, he wasn't, he didn't have the final word,

1049
00:48:21,175 --> 00:48:22,655
but he essentially had the final word.

1050
00:48:23,675 --> 00:48:27,655
So, so that's, that, that was my problem, okay?

1051
00:48:28,445 --> 00:48:32,015
Basically to begin with, with the mRNAs, not that I thought

1052
00:48:32,015 --> 00:48:33,495
that they magnetized people,

1053
00:48:33,595 --> 00:48:35,255
or that if you got injected with them,

1054
00:48:35,255 --> 00:48:37,775
bill Gates was gonna know where you were all the time,

1055
00:48:38,165 --> 00:48:40,255
that they hadn't been properly tested,

1056
00:48:40,315 --> 00:48:41,455
and that they had been tested

1057
00:48:41,455 --> 00:48:44,375
with a thumb on the scale, okay?

1058
00:48:44,375 --> 00:48:46,495
And that as a result, we didn't really know

1059
00:48:46,495 --> 00:48:47,815
how well they were gonna work, which

1060
00:48:48,395 --> 00:48:49,535
proved it to be correct.

1061
00:48:50,795 --> 00:48:54,775
Um, but this was not a very popular

1062
00:48:55,455 --> 00:48:57,215
position in early 2021,

1063
00:48:59,515 --> 00:49:01,495
and it was extremely unpopular

1064
00:49:01,495 --> 00:49:02,615
with the people in the White House.

1065
00:49:03,155 --> 00:49:07,135
So now we come to the specifics of

1066
00:49:08,475 --> 00:49:10,855
my departure from Twitter,

1067
00:49:11,385 --> 00:49:14,095
which began in April, 2021,

1068
00:49:14,725 --> 00:49:17,815
when a guy named Andrew Slavit, Andy s Slavitt, Andrew

1069
00:49:18,655 --> 00:49:21,975
s Slavitt, who was at the time the senior advisor

1070
00:49:22,075 --> 00:49:24,055
to the Covid response for the White House.

1071
00:49:24,235 --> 00:49:25,575
And a guy named Rob Flaherty,

1072
00:49:25,575 --> 00:49:27,975
who at the time was the White House Director

1073
00:49:27,975 --> 00:49:30,775
of Digital Strategy and is now the deputy campaign manager

1074
00:49:30,915 --> 00:49:34,255
for the, uh, Biden campaign, had a meeting with Twitter

1075
00:49:35,115 --> 00:49:38,295
and expressed in no uncertain terms that they were not happy

1076
00:49:38,325 --> 00:49:41,415
with the way Twitter was allowing vaccine discourse.

1077
00:49:42,035 --> 00:49:44,135
And specifically asked about me,

1078
00:49:45,065 --> 00:49:48,015
asked a really tough question about why Alex

1079
00:49:48,095 --> 00:49:49,855
Berenson is on the platform.

1080
00:49:51,155 --> 00:49:53,375
I'm not making it up. I have it in black and whites.

1081
00:49:54,135 --> 00:49:56,215
I got it as a result of the lawsuit

1082
00:49:56,215 --> 00:49:58,695
that I filed against Twitter a few months later.

1083
00:49:59,475 --> 00:50:03,575
Um, to me, that right there is the end, should be the end

1084
00:50:03,595 --> 00:50:08,135
of my case against the Biden administration, my new lawsuit.

1085
00:50:08,435 --> 00:50:10,415
That's a First Amendment violation, okay?

1086
00:50:10,795 --> 00:50:13,975
You went to these people, you targeted me specifically.

1087
00:50:15,395 --> 00:50:18,015
It doesn't matter whether you explicitly said to them,

1088
00:50:18,545 --> 00:50:20,975
we're gonna punish you and there will be consequences.

1089
00:50:21,235 --> 00:50:22,455
You are in the White House.

1090
00:50:23,245 --> 00:50:25,735
They know you have a lot of power over them.

1091
00:50:26,555 --> 00:50:29,405
You know, they know. That's it.

1092
00:50:29,955 --> 00:50:31,725
It's actually very surprising to me

1093
00:50:31,725 --> 00:50:33,965
that Twitter did not immediately ban me,

1094
00:50:34,505 --> 00:50:37,005
but Twitter actually stood up for its own principles

1095
00:50:37,345 --> 00:50:39,005
for a short period of time, okay?

1096
00:50:39,745 --> 00:50:44,505
And then Andy Sliva left the White House in

1097
00:50:44,505 --> 00:50:48,185
June, and in July, the vaccines started to go south.

1098
00:50:48,605 --> 00:50:51,185
Um, you couldn't see it in the US data, not yet,

1099
00:50:51,185 --> 00:50:53,545
but you could see it very clearly in the Israeli data.

1100
00:50:53,645 --> 00:50:56,825
The Israeli data was the, was the data that mattered

1101
00:50:56,825 --> 00:50:59,465
because Israel had vaccinated basically everybody

1102
00:50:59,685 --> 00:51:01,785
by early February.

1103
00:51:02,685 --> 00:51:07,345
Um, and with the mRNAs, with the Pfizer vaccine,

1104
00:51:07,345 --> 00:51:08,465
everybody had gotten Pfizer.

1105
00:51:09,085 --> 00:51:11,625
Um, and by July in June,

1106
00:51:12,155 --> 00:51:14,025
there was a few days when Israel had

1107
00:51:14,025 --> 00:51:15,265
essentially no Covid cases.

1108
00:51:15,925 --> 00:51:18,705
May, June was when even people

1109
00:51:18,725 --> 00:51:21,225
who I think had been somewhat skeptical, started

1110
00:51:21,225 --> 00:51:24,425
to think the vaccines might really eradicate Covid, which

1111
00:51:25,135 --> 00:51:27,665
doesn't look like such a great bet in retrospect.

1112
00:51:28,125 --> 00:51:30,185
Um, but in May

1113
00:51:30,185 --> 00:51:33,305
and June in Israel, there were essentially almost no cases

1114
00:51:33,305 --> 00:51:34,425
of covid, no deaths.

1115
00:51:35,045 --> 00:51:38,545
And then in July, it was like a, a switch had been flipped.

1116
00:51:39,005 --> 00:51:41,465
All of a sudden there were, there were, you know,

1117
00:51:41,475 --> 00:51:44,145
every day cases were up 30%, 50%.

1118
00:51:44,255 --> 00:51:47,425
They went up a hundred fold between mid-June and mid-July,

1119
00:51:47,685 --> 00:51:48,785
and death started to go up.

1120
00:51:49,055 --> 00:51:52,785
Okay? I'm not gonna get into the final debate about the

1121
00:51:52,785 --> 00:51:54,305
vaccines, which is whether or not they stop,

1122
00:51:54,375 --> 00:51:55,665
stop severe disease and death.

1123
00:51:56,565 --> 00:51:58,865
But it is clear, they certainly don't completely

1124
00:51:58,935 --> 00:52:00,145
stop severe disease and death.

1125
00:52:00,145 --> 00:52:01,345
If you are infected with covid

1126
00:52:01,365 --> 00:52:02,825
and you've been vaccinated, you can get

1127
00:52:02,825 --> 00:52:04,105
severe disease, you can die.

1128
00:52:04,365 --> 00:52:07,065
Um, I, I don't think they do much at all, actually,

1129
00:52:07,805 --> 00:52:09,985
and certainly not in this, in the Omicron era,

1130
00:52:10,045 --> 00:52:12,465
but that's a very complicated epidemiological debate.

1131
00:52:12,485 --> 00:52:14,105
I'm not gonna get into, okay.

1132
00:52:15,615 --> 00:52:18,625
They, the hospitals in Israel were starting to fill up.

1133
00:52:20,045 --> 00:52:23,065
The Biden administration had promised the United States,

1134
00:52:23,365 --> 00:52:25,225
you can have a barbecue on the 4th of July.

1135
00:52:25,345 --> 00:52:28,425
I, I remember mocking that so severely, this idea that,

1136
00:52:28,535 --> 00:52:31,145
that, that, that Joe Biden was telling you,

1137
00:52:31,145 --> 00:52:32,145
whether you could get together

1138
00:52:32,145 --> 00:52:33,945
with your friends on Independence Day.

1139
00:52:34,345 --> 00:52:37,185
I mean, who did he think he was? It was, it was insane.

1140
00:52:38,005 --> 00:52:41,145
But, but there were a lot of people who, you know, wanted

1141
00:52:41,145 --> 00:52:43,865
to be told by Joe Biden that they could get together

1142
00:52:43,865 --> 00:52:45,505
with their friends if they'd been vaccinated.

1143
00:52:46,205 --> 00:52:50,745
And so anybody looking at the Israeli numbers knew there was

1144
00:52:50,785 --> 00:52:53,065
a problem and that it was gonna,

1145
00:52:53,245 --> 00:52:55,265
and that it was happening fast, okay?

1146
00:52:55,485 --> 00:52:58,905
The Israelis basically decided on no evidence

1147
00:52:58,905 --> 00:53:00,185
that they were gonna start boosting people.

1148
00:53:00,205 --> 00:53:01,425
In other words, giving them a third shot.

1149
00:53:01,425 --> 00:53:03,025
It was only supposed to be two shots. It's the vaccine.

1150
00:53:03,125 --> 00:53:04,865
You get two shots, boom, you're done.

1151
00:53:04,865 --> 00:53:06,065
You're good for the rest of your life,

1152
00:53:06,125 --> 00:53:07,705
or at least for a few years.

1153
00:53:07,925 --> 00:53:10,385
No, we need to give you a third shot right now.

1154
00:53:10,685 --> 00:53:13,865
Within weeks, they had given a booster to most

1155
00:53:13,865 --> 00:53:17,025
of the population, and it was pretty clear that

1156
00:53:17,025 --> 00:53:20,385
that was gonna happen in the US in the fall un,

1157
00:53:20,485 --> 00:53:21,945
unless we were just gonna tolerate

1158
00:53:21,945 --> 00:53:23,145
cases going right back up.

1159
00:53:23,325 --> 00:53:26,165
And the Biden administration having to acknowledge

1160
00:53:26,165 --> 00:53:27,565
that it had essentially failed.

1161
00:53:27,955 --> 00:53:30,245
Okay? So the administration

1162
00:53:30,865 --> 00:53:32,405
and there were unvaccinated people

1163
00:53:32,705 --> 00:53:33,925
who were getting sick and dying.

1164
00:53:33,925 --> 00:53:35,325
That was happening too. Okay?

1165
00:53:37,885 --> 00:53:40,365
I think, I think those, I think the percentages

1166
00:53:40,365 --> 00:53:42,405
that were given at the 99%, that the,

1167
00:53:42,655 --> 00:53:45,405
those numbers were wrong, but there was no question.

1168
00:53:45,405 --> 00:53:47,045
There were people who were unvaccinated

1169
00:53:47,045 --> 00:53:48,085
who were getting sick and dying.

1170
00:53:48,475 --> 00:53:52,285
Okay? Um, so

1171
00:53:52,945 --> 00:53:56,885
the Biden administration decided they needed a third shot.

1172
00:53:56,885 --> 00:53:59,325
Whether or not the FDA was on board, the FDA was gonna have

1173
00:53:59,325 --> 00:54:00,325
to get on board really fast.

1174
00:54:00,875 --> 00:54:03,125
They decided they needed FDA approval.

1175
00:54:03,765 --> 00:54:06,085
'cause that meant they could push harder

1176
00:54:07,145 --> 00:54:09,325
and they needed vaccine mandates,

1177
00:54:09,825 --> 00:54:14,615
and that was the, was the worst thing, okay?

1178
00:54:14,825 --> 00:54:18,695
Completely unconstitutional in my view. Okay?

1179
00:54:20,355 --> 00:54:23,415
We have a really high bar in the United States

1180
00:54:24,115 --> 00:54:26,375
for giving people medicines against their will

1181
00:54:27,035 --> 00:54:28,615
adults, healthy adults.

1182
00:54:28,615 --> 00:54:29,735
Healthy adults, basically,

1183
00:54:29,735 --> 00:54:31,335
you can't medicate against their will.

1184
00:54:31,715 --> 00:54:33,175
You have to determine usually

1185
00:54:33,175 --> 00:54:34,855
that they're psychiatrically incompetent

1186
00:54:35,115 --> 00:54:37,975
and that you're gonna give them whatever antipsychotic you

1187
00:54:37,975 --> 00:54:39,215
think it is, that they need to stop

1188
00:54:39,215 --> 00:54:40,455
them screaming on the street.

1189
00:54:40,835 --> 00:54:42,935
And they're gonna have to take it, whether they like it

1190
00:54:42,935 --> 00:54:45,775
or not, or, you know, it's gonna be injected into them once

1191
00:54:45,815 --> 00:54:46,975
a month, whether they like it or not.

1192
00:54:47,715 --> 00:54:50,215
That's a, that's a really medically

1193
00:54:50,215 --> 00:54:51,455
and legally fraught decision.

1194
00:54:51,635 --> 00:54:53,735
Two psychiatrists have to sign off on it.

1195
00:54:53,735 --> 00:54:55,295
You know, different states have different names for it.

1196
00:54:55,335 --> 00:54:56,735
I think in Florida it's the Baker Act.

1197
00:54:57,475 --> 00:55:00,535
Uh, in California it's 51 50. It's a big deal.

1198
00:55:00,645 --> 00:55:02,855
It's a big deal to give an adult medicine they don't want.

1199
00:55:03,325 --> 00:55:07,115
Okay? And it was already clear

1200
00:55:07,345 --> 00:55:08,835
that this wasn't gonna be something

1201
00:55:08,835 --> 00:55:10,515
that you were gonna get one or two shots for,

1202
00:55:10,515 --> 00:55:11,835
and it was gonna work forever, right?

1203
00:55:11,835 --> 00:55:15,595
Thus, the booster. So, so to me, this made the vaccines

1204
00:55:16,455 --> 00:55:20,315
really more of a therapeutic of a drug than a,

1205
00:55:20,315 --> 00:55:23,595
than a standard vaccine where you get this once or twice

1206
00:55:24,015 --> 00:55:25,115
and you're protected

1207
00:55:25,255 --> 00:55:27,475
or mostly protected for most of your life.

1208
00:55:27,735 --> 00:55:29,195
That's what that tweet says. Okay?

1209
00:55:30,695 --> 00:55:32,755
If you look hard, I don't know if you, if you can see it,

1210
00:55:32,815 --> 00:55:36,595
the tweet is, is dated July 6th, 2022.

1211
00:55:39,535 --> 00:55:40,995
But I actually sent that tweet,

1212
00:55:41,495 --> 00:55:45,115
or an identical tweet on August 28th, 2021.

1213
00:55:45,825 --> 00:55:47,995
That was the final tweet I was allowed

1214
00:55:47,995 --> 00:55:49,235
to send before Twitter.

1215
00:55:49,345 --> 00:55:51,035
Gave me my fifth strike and ban me

1216
00:55:51,565 --> 00:55:53,715
under pressure from the Biden administration

1217
00:55:54,605 --> 00:55:57,275
under pressure publicly from the Biden administration,

1218
00:55:57,645 --> 00:56:00,075
which had said that Section two 30 protection,

1219
00:56:00,075 --> 00:56:01,675
which is vital to these companies

1220
00:56:01,675 --> 00:56:04,235
because again, it enables them to operate

1221
00:56:04,265 --> 00:56:06,955
with essentially no fair fear of being lost, sued

1222
00:56:06,955 --> 00:56:10,755
by their users, um, was on the table

1223
00:56:11,105 --> 00:56:13,555
that they might lose Section two 30 protection

1224
00:56:14,375 --> 00:56:17,715
and under pressure from senior Pfizer officials,

1225
00:56:18,505 --> 00:56:20,235
notably Dr. Scott Gottlieb.

1226
00:56:20,405 --> 00:56:24,525
Scott Gottlieb, um, is A-C-N-B-C-N-B-C contributor.

1227
00:56:25,145 --> 00:56:29,605
Uh, he was the head of the FDA, um, under Trump.

1228
00:56:30,105 --> 00:56:31,205
He left the FDA

1229
00:56:31,345 --> 00:56:34,885
and literally 90 days later, the minimum statutory, uh,

1230
00:56:34,885 --> 00:56:37,725
time joined the Pfizer board as a senior director.

1231
00:56:37,955 --> 00:56:40,525
He's been a very, very good investment for Pfizer.

1232
00:56:40,875 --> 00:56:42,685
They pay him about 400 grand a year.

1233
00:56:42,995 --> 00:56:44,725
He's worth a lot more than that to them.

1234
00:56:45,135 --> 00:56:49,325
Scott Gottlieb went to Twitter and claimed that I, my tweets

1235
00:56:49,325 --> 00:56:52,885
and my substack were putting Anthony Fauci at risk.

1236
00:56:54,585 --> 00:56:56,005
Um, and,

1237
00:56:56,585 --> 00:57:01,325
and Twitter banned me, um, on August 28th,

1238
00:57:01,465 --> 00:57:06,085
and there was one other, uh, see, can we switch the screen?

1239
00:57:06,505 --> 00:57:09,125
Uh, yes.

1240
00:57:10,275 --> 00:57:13,125
Permanently banned, which turned out to be about

1241
00:57:13,125 --> 00:57:14,685
as permanent as the vaccine protection.

1242
00:57:15,385 --> 00:57:19,805
Um, so, uh,

1243
00:57:21,945 --> 00:57:25,725
so I was banned and I said I was gonna sue,

1244
00:57:25,785 --> 00:57:29,525
and everyone told me, especially law Twitter, which tends

1245
00:57:29,525 --> 00:57:31,405
to lean left, that I was an idiot,

1246
00:57:31,515 --> 00:57:33,485
that no one could beat a section two 30 ban,

1247
00:57:33,745 --> 00:57:34,925
or no one could beat a band

1248
00:57:34,925 --> 00:57:37,765
because of section two 30 that all I was doing was trying

1249
00:57:37,765 --> 00:57:39,725
to fundraise, blah, blah, blah.

1250
00:57:40,485 --> 00:57:43,685
I sued. And what I had was two things.

1251
00:57:44,415 --> 00:57:48,605
First of all, I had these communications from, uh,

1252
00:57:48,955 --> 00:57:51,885
this Twitter vice president telling me, Hey, go talk.

1253
00:57:52,185 --> 00:57:53,805
And I'd been in touch with him a few times,

1254
00:57:56,865 --> 00:57:59,485
and I had something else, which everyone has,

1255
00:57:59,585 --> 00:58:01,205
not everyone has that, but everyone has this.

1256
00:58:02,125 --> 00:58:05,775
Twitter had said, it's a five strike policy.

1257
00:58:06,065 --> 00:58:07,415
We're not just gonna throw you off,

1258
00:58:07,565 --> 00:58:09,695
even though we have the right to under our own contract,

1259
00:58:09,865 --> 00:58:11,135
we're gonna do this the right way.

1260
00:58:11,205 --> 00:58:13,015
Because listen, if you're one of these companies,

1261
00:58:13,015 --> 00:58:15,975
it's not actually a good idea to tell people who spend

1262
00:58:16,755 --> 00:58:20,655
far too much time on your platform, um, that

1263
00:58:21,285 --> 00:58:23,335
they have no rights, that if you decide

1264
00:58:23,335 --> 00:58:25,015
to toss them, you can toss them.

1265
00:58:25,475 --> 00:58:27,375
And in some cases, this is an actual case

1266
00:58:27,375 --> 00:58:28,815
involving YouTube and Google.

1267
00:58:29,475 --> 00:58:32,455
Um, you can keep money

1268
00:58:32,525 --> 00:58:36,495
that they have collected selling stuff after you toss them.

1269
00:58:36,845 --> 00:58:38,975
That happened. The guy sued to try to get the money back

1270
00:58:39,035 --> 00:58:42,095
and, and Google, you know, YouTube is part of Google,

1271
00:58:42,605 --> 00:58:43,615
YouTube said no.

1272
00:58:43,715 --> 00:58:45,535
And the judge said, yeah, section two 30,

1273
00:58:45,565 --> 00:58:46,575
he's, you got no rights.

1274
00:58:46,685 --> 00:58:47,935
They can, they can toss you anytime.

1275
00:58:48,755 --> 00:58:53,075
Um, so, so Twitter

1276
00:58:53,825 --> 00:58:55,875
said, Hey, we have a real policy here.

1277
00:58:55,875 --> 00:58:57,475
We have rules. We're gonna follow those rules.

1278
00:58:58,375 --> 00:59:01,395
So I sued, uh, in December

1279
00:59:01,935 --> 00:59:04,035
and had the great good fortune to get a judge.

1280
00:59:04,065 --> 00:59:05,195
This is in San Francisco,

1281
00:59:05,195 --> 00:59:06,395
but he was a senior judge's name

1282
00:59:06,395 --> 00:59:07,955
as Judge Wilson, William Sup.

1283
00:59:08,255 --> 00:59:10,435
He had done a bunch of, uh, tech cases.

1284
00:59:10,535 --> 00:59:12,835
He was known as sort of being independent and fair minded.

1285
00:59:12,895 --> 00:59:13,955
He was a Clinton appointee.

1286
00:59:14,155 --> 00:59:15,315
I mean, this is West Coast, right?

1287
00:59:15,315 --> 00:59:16,715
There's no, there's no,

1288
00:59:16,715 --> 00:59:18,275
there's no conservative judges out there.

1289
00:59:18,935 --> 00:59:20,035
Um, but he was fair,

1290
00:59:20,495 --> 00:59:22,205
and he looked at the evidence we presented

1291
00:59:22,205 --> 00:59:23,805
and he said, you know what?

1292
00:59:24,355 --> 00:59:26,885
This guy has a case on the breach of contract stuff.

1293
00:59:27,385 --> 00:59:29,885
He had these, he had these assurances,

1294
00:59:30,225 --> 00:59:33,005
and he's got this five strike policy that Twitter,

1295
00:59:33,005 --> 00:59:35,485
Twitter can't even tell him what the first strike was,

1296
00:59:35,485 --> 00:59:37,365
which was true at the time I filed the lawsuit.

1297
00:59:37,675 --> 00:59:39,685
They couldn't tell me what the first strike was.

1298
00:59:40,505 --> 00:59:44,045
And he said, you know, he relied on these assurances in good

1299
00:59:44,045 --> 00:59:47,325
faith, and I'm gonna let this lawsuit go forward, which,

1300
00:59:47,705 --> 00:59:49,325
you know, which was a nightmare for Twitter.

1301
00:59:50,025 --> 00:59:52,285
Um, and so they wanted to settle the case,

1302
00:59:53,225 --> 00:59:54,805
and they did settle the case.

1303
00:59:54,805 --> 00:59:57,125
They put me back on. They said they shouldn't have done

1304
00:59:57,315 --> 01:00:00,325
what they did, and they,

1305
01:00:00,825 --> 01:00:03,805
and so that tweet was my last tweet out,

1306
01:00:03,865 --> 01:00:06,285
and my first tweet in, I thought a lot about

1307
01:00:06,285 --> 01:00:07,605
what my first tweet back was gonna be.

1308
01:00:07,605 --> 01:00:09,845
And I decided it was gonna be the truth, just

1309
01:00:10,025 --> 01:00:11,245
as the final tweet had been.

1310
01:00:12,505 --> 01:00:16,885
And they provided discovery the same, some

1311
01:00:17,005 --> 01:00:18,885
of the same discovery that I would've gotten.

1312
01:00:18,885 --> 01:00:20,725
Discovery is the process in a civil lawsuit

1313
01:00:20,735 --> 01:00:23,085
where the two sides turn over information to each other.

1314
01:00:23,265 --> 01:00:24,925
Now you have to turn over documents,

1315
01:00:25,065 --> 01:00:26,405
you have to sit for depositions.

1316
01:00:27,185 --> 01:00:30,085
Um, it is, it is a process

1317
01:00:30,115 --> 01:00:32,005
that big companies do not wanna be involved in,

1318
01:00:32,005 --> 01:00:33,445
which was one reason Twitter settled.

1319
01:00:33,545 --> 01:00:36,485
But I told them I wasn't gonna settle if they didn't provide

1320
01:00:37,045 --> 01:00:38,325
whatever communications they'd had from

1321
01:00:38,325 --> 01:00:39,365
places like the White House.

1322
01:00:39,365 --> 01:00:40,445
And ultimately they wanted

1323
01:00:40,445 --> 01:00:42,085
to settle badly enough that they agreed.

1324
01:00:42,445 --> 01:00:44,605
I don't know, again, how frequent that is.

1325
01:00:44,605 --> 01:00:47,205
It's pretty infrequent that a company will settle a case

1326
01:00:47,205 --> 01:00:48,285
and still provide discovery.

1327
01:00:48,625 --> 01:00:50,445
But they did. And that discovery showed

1328
01:00:50,875 --> 01:00:53,285
what I'm talking about with Andy Slat.

1329
01:00:53,285 --> 01:00:55,365
That's how I know that Andy Slat did that.

1330
01:00:55,905 --> 01:00:59,045
Um, and that Scott Gottlieb, uh, you know, was,

1331
01:00:59,185 --> 01:01:00,485
was in contact with Twitter.

1332
01:01:00,485 --> 01:01:02,805
That's, I it's not, it's not speculation, it's proof.

1333
01:01:03,385 --> 01:01:06,765
And that's why I have now sued the Biden administration, be

1334
01:01:06,945 --> 01:01:09,805
and Pfizer, because as I like to say,

1335
01:01:09,945 --> 01:01:11,725
I'm now a real conspiracy theorist.

1336
01:01:11,905 --> 01:01:14,325
I'm alleging a conspiracy to deprive me

1337
01:01:14,325 --> 01:01:15,805
of my First Amendment rights

1338
01:01:15,945 --> 01:01:18,765
and, uh, to interfere with my contract with Twitter.

1339
01:01:19,305 --> 01:01:22,525
Um, now, Pfizer is not the government.

1340
01:01:22,525 --> 01:01:24,845
Pfizer cannot deprive me of my first amendment rights.

1341
01:01:24,845 --> 01:01:26,485
But there is a, there's a law called, uh,

1342
01:01:26,485 --> 01:01:30,885
which very rarely used a federal law, um, called 19 85 3,

1343
01:01:31,455 --> 01:01:33,925
which enables people to sue, um,

1344
01:01:33,985 --> 01:01:36,685
if they believe there's a conspiracy against an identifiable

1345
01:01:36,685 --> 01:01:38,325
class of people, um,

1346
01:01:38,535 --> 01:01:42,045
which in this case would be the unvaccinated, essentially.

1347
01:01:42,385 --> 01:01:47,205
Um, and so, you know, the judge, it's a new judge.

1348
01:01:47,315 --> 01:01:50,445
It's a New York, um, it's,

1349
01:01:50,445 --> 01:01:51,845
we'll see what, we'll see what happens.

1350
01:01:52,015 --> 01:01:53,885
We're at the motion to dismiss stage again.

1351
01:01:54,085 --> 01:01:56,405
I certainly hope that we survive the motion to dismiss.

1352
01:01:56,745 --> 01:01:58,765
So that's where I am with Berenson and v Biden.

1353
01:01:59,625 --> 01:02:04,245
Um, I, I, I, I think to pull it back to these cases,

1354
01:02:04,535 --> 01:02:08,805
these Missouri v Biden and, uh, and the California

1355
01:02:08,805 --> 01:02:11,805
and Florida cases, I think one part

1356
01:02:11,805 --> 01:02:13,005
of this is very simple, okay?

1357
01:02:13,505 --> 01:02:16,085
The federal government should not be in the business

1358
01:02:16,105 --> 01:02:18,365
of telling websites what to publish.

1359
01:02:18,545 --> 01:02:21,445
It shouldn't be in the business of the FBI shouldn't be in

1360
01:02:21,445 --> 01:02:23,845
the business of telling Twitter we don't like that tweet.

1361
01:02:23,875 --> 01:02:25,445
It's about election day. Take it down.

1362
01:02:26,145 --> 01:02:29,445
Uh, Andy Slavitt should not be calling Twitter from the

1363
01:02:29,445 --> 01:02:31,405
White House and asking them a really hard question

1364
01:02:31,405 --> 01:02:32,645
about why I'm on the platform.

1365
01:02:32,865 --> 01:02:33,925
No, none of it. Okay.

1366
01:02:34,305 --> 01:02:38,165
If it's illegal, get a warrant and go

1367
01:02:38,165 --> 01:02:40,965
after the people who you're, who you think did it.

1368
01:02:41,425 --> 01:02:46,325
That's fine. If you have broad views about people

1369
01:02:46,745 --> 01:02:49,885
who are discouraging, encouraging vaccine hesitancy,

1370
01:02:49,885 --> 01:02:52,925
killing people, as Joe Biden said, he said, you know,

1371
01:02:52,925 --> 01:02:54,525
the VA then say that,

1372
01:02:56,065 --> 01:03:00,405
but don't criticize users of a platform

1373
01:03:00,785 --> 01:03:04,325
by name to the platform, publicly or privately.

1374
01:03:04,745 --> 01:03:07,645
It is a, it is a, it is a First Amendment violation.

1375
01:03:07,865 --> 01:03:09,645
If you're doing it from the, from the top

1376
01:03:09,645 --> 01:03:11,605
of the federal government, you are, you have too much power.

1377
01:03:11,755 --> 01:03:14,325
It's coercive inherently. Okay?

1378
01:03:14,405 --> 01:03:17,525
Certainly, certainly the companies viewed it that way.

1379
01:03:18,315 --> 01:03:19,325
They view, they knew

1380
01:03:19,345 --> 01:03:21,765
how much power the federal government had over them,

1381
01:03:21,865 --> 01:03:23,805
and they believed they were being coerced.

1382
01:03:24,585 --> 01:03:26,205
So that's gotta stop.

1383
01:03:26,985 --> 01:03:30,165
And, and I hope we'll see what the Supreme Court does.

1384
01:03:30,165 --> 01:03:33,685
That's Missouri v Biden, that's the social media case. Okay?

1385
01:03:34,165 --> 01:03:37,525
I think that's pretty easy. The more complicated question

1386
01:03:37,745 --> 01:03:40,815
is, do the companies have

1387
01:03:40,815 --> 01:03:42,615
to carry stuff they don't really want to carry?

1388
01:03:43,325 --> 01:03:45,695
Okay. Are they common carriers?

1389
01:03:45,695 --> 01:03:47,055
That's, that's the term of art.

1390
01:03:47,115 --> 01:03:50,695
And that's the argument we made in California to Judge Sup

1391
01:03:50,695 --> 01:03:53,135
that he rejected, which I think is really too bad.

1392
01:03:53,375 --> 01:03:55,735
'cause I actually think there's pretty strong statutory

1393
01:03:55,975 --> 01:03:57,655
language in California about this, but whatever we lost,

1394
01:03:58,275 --> 01:04:03,255
um, are they the phone company?

1395
01:04:03,345 --> 01:04:06,975
Right? If you make a call, you can say whatever you want,

1396
01:04:07,115 --> 01:04:09,335
and at and t isn't supposed to listen to it,

1397
01:04:09,475 --> 01:04:10,615
and they aren't supposed to care.

1398
01:04:11,075 --> 01:04:14,015
You are just another user, whatever you are,

1399
01:04:14,335 --> 01:04:15,655
whatever you're saying, whoever you are,

1400
01:04:16,435 --> 01:04:18,775
or is it more complicated than that?

1401
01:04:19,155 --> 01:04:21,135
Are they're using algorithms

1402
01:04:21,675 --> 01:04:24,095
and their own sort of editorial control

1403
01:04:24,395 --> 01:04:28,095
to promote certain stories to, to, you know, to down, uh,

1404
01:04:28,525 --> 01:04:32,115
rank certain stories or, you know, okay.

1405
01:04:34,135 --> 01:04:36,345
Then to me, they're publishers. Okay.

1406
01:04:36,605 --> 01:04:39,065
Why do they have protection, complete immunity from

1407
01:04:39,065 --> 01:04:43,065
what they're promoting and not promoting if they are making

1408
01:04:43,785 --> 01:04:44,985
specific editorial decisions?

1409
01:04:45,215 --> 01:04:48,945
This is where two 30 is a mess and has been misinterpreted.

1410
01:04:48,945 --> 01:04:50,465
And I actually think there's a fairly

1411
01:04:50,465 --> 01:04:52,065
simple solution to this, okay?

1412
01:04:53,365 --> 01:04:54,505
For the biggest companies,

1413
01:04:54,505 --> 01:04:56,025
and by the way, there, this is complicated

1414
01:04:56,025 --> 01:04:59,305
because if you, let's say you have a small, um, you know,

1415
01:05:00,335 --> 01:05:01,665
website or app,

1416
01:05:02,085 --> 01:05:03,705
and let's say, uh, you know, let's say,

1417
01:05:04,315 --> 01:05:08,665
let's say it's a like, uh, uh, a synagogue bulletin board

1418
01:05:09,245 --> 01:05:12,545
and some, you know, neo-Nazi signs up

1419
01:05:12,545 --> 01:05:14,625
and starts posting crazy anti-Semitic stuff,

1420
01:05:14,625 --> 01:05:16,305
and you say, well, I am taking this down.

1421
01:05:16,525 --> 01:05:19,445
And they say, well, no, you know, you're just another,

1422
01:05:19,785 --> 01:05:21,125
um, computer provider.

1423
01:05:21,465 --> 01:05:23,805
You have to post whatever I allow. Okay?

1424
01:05:24,005 --> 01:05:25,605
I think that's a problem. I don't think the idea

1425
01:05:25,605 --> 01:05:27,565
that Twitter's gonna be more of a cesspool is a problem.

1426
01:05:27,565 --> 01:05:28,725
Twitter's already as much of a

1427
01:05:28,725 --> 01:05:30,085
cesspool as it can possibly be.

1428
01:05:30,105 --> 01:05:33,805
And trust me, I, I, it's called, you know, I use it. I know.

1429
01:05:34,665 --> 01:05:36,325
So, but this,

1430
01:05:36,465 --> 01:05:40,125
but this, there should be some sort of size limit.

1431
01:05:40,145 --> 01:05:43,845
And the Texas law actually does, um, get into that,

1432
01:05:44,095 --> 01:05:45,765
where only the very largest

1433
01:05:46,325 --> 01:05:47,725
platforms would be subject to the rules.

1434
01:05:47,785 --> 01:05:50,325
But I think there's a fairly simple way to do this,

1435
01:05:50,605 --> 01:05:51,805
although the companies would hate it,

1436
01:05:51,805 --> 01:05:53,765
which is when you sign up,

1437
01:05:54,545 --> 01:05:56,765
you are told you're gonna be presented

1438
01:05:57,115 --> 01:05:58,965
with an unfiltered feed.

1439
01:05:58,965 --> 01:06:01,205
That's essentially just gonna be time, whatever,

1440
01:06:01,845 --> 01:06:03,645
whatever is on Twitter or Facebook.

1441
01:06:03,675 --> 01:06:05,125
It's just gonna be the newest stuff.

1442
01:06:05,865 --> 01:06:08,485
And you know, it's whatever, whoever you've signed up

1443
01:06:08,485 --> 01:06:09,885
for, whatever gets retweeted to you.

1444
01:06:09,885 --> 01:06:12,525
And if you don't like it, you know, there may be,

1445
01:06:12,935 --> 01:06:14,485
there may be vile imagery

1446
01:06:14,505 --> 01:06:18,525
or whatever, you know, we are gonna offer you

1447
01:06:19,225 --> 01:06:22,445
an algorithmically curated feed that's gonna be better,

1448
01:06:22,785 --> 01:06:24,165
and that we're gonna, we're

1449
01:06:24,165 --> 01:06:25,285
where we say it's gonna be better,

1450
01:06:25,305 --> 01:06:26,645
and you're welcome to opt into that.

1451
01:06:27,545 --> 01:06:32,325
And that, um, you can opt out at any time.

1452
01:06:32,795 --> 01:06:34,885
Okay? You don't have to take away their protection.

1453
01:06:34,885 --> 01:06:36,165
They do need protection

1454
01:06:36,165 --> 01:06:37,645
because they can't be expected

1455
01:06:38,225 --> 01:06:40,605
to know every post, the content of every post.

1456
01:06:40,605 --> 01:06:43,165
There's billions of posts a day.

1457
01:06:44,745 --> 01:06:48,445
But they, but they shouldn't be allowed to behave this way,

1458
01:06:49,095 --> 01:06:53,045
where they just act however they like, and they,

1459
01:06:53,705 --> 01:06:56,485
and they face no legal threat for it.

1460
01:06:57,505 --> 01:06:59,525
If they're, if they're getting the protection

1461
01:06:59,525 --> 01:07:01,965
that common carriers have, then they need to at least

1462
01:07:02,495 --> 01:07:04,805
waive in the direction of allowing people

1463
01:07:05,345 --> 01:07:08,485
to tweet in an unfiltered way, at least to the portion,

1464
01:07:08,665 --> 01:07:12,925
or, you know, or post on Facebook, at least to the portion

1465
01:07:13,025 --> 01:07:16,165
of the audience that has opted into that.

1466
01:07:16,645 --> 01:07:18,285
I think that's a reasonable compromise.

1467
01:07:18,465 --> 01:07:20,605
I'm sure, you know, maybe there's technical reasons.

1468
01:07:20,675 --> 01:07:22,525
It's difficult. I suspect it's doable.

1469
01:07:22,985 --> 01:07:26,165
Um, uh, I don't know.

1470
01:07:26,325 --> 01:07:29,725
I mean, it's not the Supreme Court's job to, to write laws.

1471
01:07:29,905 --> 01:07:32,765
So I, I think probably from what I've read,

1472
01:07:32,765 --> 01:07:35,245
they're gonna strike down the Missouri, the, the Texas

1473
01:07:35,585 --> 01:07:36,605
and Florida laws.

1474
01:07:37,145 --> 01:07:39,285
Um, I don't know what's gonna happen with Missouri.

1475
01:07:39,985 --> 01:07:42,165
Um, and I certainly dunno what's gonna happen with my case,

1476
01:07:43,025 --> 01:07:45,085
but I think we should all agree.

1477
01:07:47,185 --> 01:07:50,965
And the federal government, Seesaw, all these agencies

1478
01:07:50,965 --> 01:07:53,445
that are monkeying around with misinformation

1479
01:07:53,465 --> 01:07:55,565
and disinformation, it's should stop.

1480
01:07:56,155 --> 01:07:59,525
Okay? Unless again, it's, you have proof

1481
01:07:59,525 --> 01:08:01,805
that there are foreign entities,

1482
01:08:02,465 --> 01:08:04,405
and in that case, it's really a job for the CIA

1483
01:08:04,545 --> 01:08:07,325
or the FBI's sort of National Security Department.

1484
01:08:07,435 --> 01:08:10,005
Okay? If, if, if Vladimir Putin or you know,

1485
01:08:10,065 --> 01:08:12,725
or Xi really has a bunch of trolls trying

1486
01:08:12,725 --> 01:08:17,005
to cause tension in the us, then, then that, you know,

1487
01:08:17,005 --> 01:08:19,045
that's a spy, that's a job for the spies, okay?

1488
01:08:19,425 --> 01:08:20,645
Or the, or the FBI.

1489
01:08:22,525 --> 01:08:24,405
Americans are allowed to cause tension with Americans.

1490
01:08:24,405 --> 01:08:27,525
That's what we do. It's why we have the First Amendment.

1491
01:08:27,675 --> 01:08:30,805
It's where we came from back in 1776.

1492
01:08:30,965 --> 01:08:32,805
I live near West Point.

1493
01:08:33,245 --> 01:08:37,725
I, you know, we started in a fight and we like to fight.

1494
01:08:37,905 --> 01:08:39,565
We like to fight with words.

1495
01:08:39,565 --> 01:08:41,445
Sometimes we like to fight too much with weapons.

1496
01:08:42,235 --> 01:08:45,845
It's who we are. And I think it's one reason this is a great

1497
01:08:45,845 --> 01:08:50,445
country, and I don't want the government telling me

1498
01:08:50,505 --> 01:08:51,645
what's misinformation.

1499
01:08:51,885 --> 01:08:54,045
I don't want the government telling me what I can think,

1500
01:08:54,305 --> 01:08:56,405
and I don't want the government telling me what I can say.

1501
01:08:56,945 --> 01:08:58,805
And I don't want the government trying to tell Twitter

1502
01:08:59,025 --> 01:09:01,965
to do those things for it, because it can't do it directly.

1503
01:09:02,325 --> 01:09:03,845
I don't think that should be controversial.

1504
01:09:04,385 --> 01:09:06,325
I'm sorry that it is. And I'm sorry that

1505
01:09:06,935 --> 01:09:08,565
aside from the University of West Florida,

1506
01:09:08,945 --> 01:09:11,965
nobody in academia wants to hear any of this

1507
01:09:11,965 --> 01:09:13,205
because they're,

1508
01:09:13,205 --> 01:09:14,965
because they're the ones benefiting from it right now.

1509
01:09:14,965 --> 01:09:17,565
But the pendulum will swing and,

1510
01:09:18,665 --> 01:09:20,325
and, you know, I don't know how long it'll take,

1511
01:09:20,385 --> 01:09:21,925
but one day they will regret

1512
01:09:23,025 --> 01:09:24,285
not standing up for free speech.

1513
01:09:24,495 --> 01:09:25,495
Thank you all.

1514
01:09:35,035 --> 01:09:36,525
Okay, so he's done his part

1515
01:09:36,585 --> 01:09:38,205
and now it's your turn to do yours.

1516
01:09:38,665 --> 01:09:41,645
Uh, we have individuals in green jackets who will have, one

1517
01:09:41,645 --> 01:09:43,605
of them will have a microphone, sort of wave them down.

1518
01:09:43,745 --> 01:09:46,605
And, uh, you can ask your question while that's,

1519
01:09:46,625 --> 01:09:47,805
uh, starting to happen.

1520
01:09:48,465 --> 01:09:50,125
Uh, events like this don't happen

1521
01:09:50,315 --> 01:09:51,805
without effort and planning.

1522
01:09:52,045 --> 01:09:53,765
I wanted to thank a few individuals

1523
01:09:53,905 --> 01:09:55,725
and groups who helped make it happen.

1524
01:09:56,265 --> 01:09:58,125
Uh, first and foremost, Karen Tibble,

1525
01:09:58,265 --> 01:10:00,085
the college's new communications officer,

1526
01:10:00,655 --> 01:10:02,685
who's just been invaluable in helping to think

1527
01:10:02,685 --> 01:10:04,765
through every detail of this event.

1528
01:10:05,355 --> 01:10:08,205
Also, our new office administrator in the department, uh,

1529
01:10:08,205 --> 01:10:12,285
Deborah Zimmerman, uh, each of the colleges, uh, cash,

1530
01:10:12,385 --> 01:10:13,845
the College of Arts, social Sciences

1531
01:10:13,845 --> 01:10:16,805
and Humanities, the Hal Marcus College of, uh, science

1532
01:10:16,805 --> 01:10:19,325
and Engineering, Usha Kdu College of Health,

1533
01:10:19,865 --> 01:10:22,005
and also our new Office of Campus Culture

1534
01:10:22,145 --> 01:10:25,765
and Access helped to, uh, pool together the resources

1535
01:10:25,785 --> 01:10:27,325
to make this event a reality.

1536
01:10:27,985 --> 01:10:30,845
Uh, this is the first time we have live streamed one

1537
01:10:30,845 --> 01:10:32,325
of these downtown lectures.

1538
01:10:32,465 --> 01:10:36,245
And, uh, John McDonnell over at WWF helped to make it a,

1539
01:10:36,325 --> 01:10:38,445
a reality, uh, our bookstore,

1540
01:10:38,445 --> 01:10:39,885
it's the first time our department has ever

1541
01:10:39,955 --> 01:10:41,205
offered a book signing.

1542
01:10:41,265 --> 01:10:42,885
So that's exciting. The bookstore helped.

1543
01:10:43,425 --> 01:10:45,325
Uh, and also, uh, all, all the folks

1544
01:10:45,325 --> 01:10:48,125
that were in the comments who helped set up the display sign

1545
01:10:48,145 --> 01:10:49,405
and the audio visual it,

1546
01:10:49,435 --> 01:10:50,885
there's just a lot that goes into this.

1547
01:10:50,885 --> 01:10:53,045
Please join me in thanking the, all the people

1548
01:10:53,105 --> 01:10:54,845
who helped put this event together.

1549
01:11:00,595 --> 01:11:03,045
Okay. We have some time, probably like five

1550
01:11:03,045 --> 01:11:04,285
or six questions, and then

1551
01:11:04,285 --> 01:11:05,765
of course there will be the book signings

1552
01:11:10,385 --> 01:11:12,005
Are, are we supposed to give our name?

1553
01:11:12,395 --> 01:11:14,445
It's up to you, Jim Fitzpatrick.

1554
01:11:15,465 --> 01:11:20,125
Um, it, it was a veritable wave

1555
01:11:20,185 --> 01:11:22,405
of information, and I have so many questions.

1556
01:11:22,945 --> 01:11:25,205
One thing I will tell you though, that if you talk

1557
01:11:25,205 --> 01:11:27,885
to older people, pause for a while

1558
01:11:28,145 --> 01:11:29,325
and give 'em about five minutes

1559
01:11:29,325 --> 01:11:30,565
and they'll forget the question

1560
01:11:30,945 --> 01:11:32,725
and you don't have to worry about it anymore.

1561
01:11:33,505 --> 01:11:36,765
And I've forgotten a lot of my questions back

1562
01:11:36,765 --> 01:11:38,085
to your teachers bit.

1563
01:11:38,505 --> 01:11:41,205
The, the, the reason teachers can be the free speech.

1564
01:11:41,675 --> 01:11:43,765
I'll say professors, they got tenure

1565
01:11:43,905 --> 01:11:46,045
so they can say anything they want to and not get fired.

1566
01:11:46,145 --> 01:11:48,005
So that, you know, let's take the tenure away

1567
01:11:48,005 --> 01:11:51,245
and then find out how, how vocal they might be.

1568
01:11:52,585 --> 01:11:55,605
Um, I was a little disappointed from the title of your

1569
01:11:56,305 --> 01:11:58,045
speech, uh, your talk here.

1570
01:11:58,045 --> 01:12:00,965
It says, how to Stop the Internet from Killing Free Speech.

1571
01:12:01,985 --> 01:12:05,525
And I'm not sure you approached that subject matter at all.

1572
01:12:06,125 --> 01:12:09,845
I thoroughly enjoyed what you had to say about your dealings

1573
01:12:09,845 --> 01:12:11,725
with Twitter and about the Covid stuff.

1574
01:12:12,425 --> 01:12:15,285
Um, and I, I, one quick question.

1575
01:12:15,385 --> 01:12:19,925
How did you get, did, did you delve much into the military

1576
01:12:20,385 --> 01:12:22,205
and the covid stuff there?

1577
01:12:22,205 --> 01:12:24,525
Because we had some real issues in this

1578
01:12:24,525 --> 01:12:26,005
particular area on that

1579
01:12:27,225 --> 01:12:30,445
In 2021, I heard from a lot of, uh, uh, soldiers

1580
01:12:30,505 --> 01:12:32,005
and their families who, you know, didn't,

1581
01:12:32,005 --> 01:12:34,765
they didn't want the vaccine and what they should do.

1582
01:12:34,905 --> 01:12:38,445
And, um, that was, that was definitely, it was funny.

1583
01:12:38,765 --> 01:12:40,125
Soldiers and pilots were the two,

1584
01:12:40,445 --> 01:12:42,085
I would say most aggravated, uh, groups.

1585
01:12:42,385 --> 01:12:45,605
Um, uh, I mean, I thought at the end I sort

1586
01:12:45,765 --> 01:12:48,045
of talked a little bit about how we could at least have a

1587
01:12:48,245 --> 01:12:51,085
somewhat better, uh, you know, internet at least sort

1588
01:12:51,085 --> 01:12:54,205
of force the companies to, to be common carriers,

1589
01:12:54,465 --> 01:12:55,725
at least the biggest ones,

1590
01:12:55,865 --> 01:12:59,045
but allow them to offer an option to, you know,

1591
01:12:59,045 --> 01:13:00,205
to people. Um, but

1592
01:13:00,205 --> 01:13:01,445
They're not common carriers.

1593
01:13:01,785 --> 01:13:04,845
And so if you, I mean, until you,

1594
01:13:04,975 --> 01:13:07,045
until Congress does something about that,

1595
01:13:07,335 --> 01:13:08,335
Right? Right.

1596
01:13:08,335 --> 01:13:09,685
I mean, that's right. So I

1597
01:13:10,355 --> 01:13:12,205
It's a private business, basically.

1598
01:13:12,355 --> 01:13:13,885
Well, yeah, but I mean, at t's a

1599
01:13:13,885 --> 01:13:15,005
private business, it's a common carrier.

1600
01:13:15,065 --> 01:13:18,005
If you, you know, if you, if you're going, you can regulate,

1601
01:13:18,005 --> 01:13:19,285
look, there's also, there's spec

1602
01:13:19,345 --> 01:13:21,485
and I know a lot about sort of the specifics

1603
01:13:21,485 --> 01:13:23,005
of California law because,

1604
01:13:23,435 --> 01:13:26,285
because that's where we filed, uh, in Overon v Twitter,

1605
01:13:26,845 --> 01:13:29,165
I actually think California law properly applied,

1606
01:13:29,165 --> 01:13:31,445
would essentially force the companies based in

1607
01:13:31,445 --> 01:13:33,085
California to open themselves.

1608
01:13:33,085 --> 01:13:36,005
California has even more robust free speech protections

1609
01:13:36,635 --> 01:13:38,205
than the, than the First Amendment.

1610
01:13:38,905 --> 01:13:42,925
And it has, um, there, there's some

1611
01:13:43,685 --> 01:13:47,045
requirements that large entities like malls have to be open

1612
01:13:47,465 --> 01:13:49,845
to, uh, to basically to free speech.

1613
01:13:50,385 --> 01:13:55,125
And so, um, I, I think if the company's, if you,

1614
01:13:55,125 --> 01:13:57,125
even if you've softened two 30 even slightly

1615
01:13:57,265 --> 01:14:01,125
and allowed two California law to, to take precedence, um,

1616
01:14:01,435 --> 01:14:02,685
that could be another way to do it.

1617
01:14:02,745 --> 01:14:04,085
So, so there are, there are ways,

1618
01:14:04,105 --> 01:14:05,525
but it's a question of political world.

1619
01:14:05,525 --> 01:14:07,085
It's a question of people understanding what's really

1620
01:14:07,085 --> 01:14:08,765
happening too, which I think a lot of people don't.

1621
01:14:09,265 --> 01:14:11,645
Um, 'cause it's complicated and it's technical, and

1622
01:14:11,645 --> 01:14:12,885
because, you know,

1623
01:14:12,945 --> 01:14:14,485
the New York Times is not writing about this.

1624
01:14:14,715 --> 01:14:17,485
Like, just, just like they're not writing about the lab leak

1625
01:14:17,485 --> 01:14:19,965
and the evidence, you know, now being overwhelming for it.

1626
01:14:19,965 --> 01:14:21,525
They don't want to revisit these things.

1627
01:14:21,525 --> 01:14:23,805
They don't want to talk about their mistakes, um,

1628
01:14:23,805 --> 01:14:24,805
which is unfortunate.

1629
01:14:27,755 --> 01:14:29,925
Good evening, Mr. Spearson. My name's David Brooks.

1630
01:14:29,985 --> 01:14:33,525
I'm a pharmacist and I've come across, uh, a lot

1631
01:14:33,525 --> 01:14:36,805
of issues throughout the start of the pandemic, starting

1632
01:14:36,805 --> 01:14:37,925
with repurposed drugs

1633
01:14:38,025 --> 01:14:40,685
and the killing of that right off the bat, um,

1634
01:14:41,465 --> 01:14:45,365
at my job threatened multiple times social media, um,

1635
01:14:45,745 --> 01:14:49,125
for even suggesting that whether it's zinc

1636
01:14:49,125 --> 01:14:50,965
or ivermectin, you know,

1637
01:14:51,125 --> 01:14:54,405
F-L-C-C-C studies might be relevant to the topic.

1638
01:14:55,145 --> 01:14:56,805
Um, and that there should be a discussion.

1639
01:14:57,785 --> 01:15:00,725
Uh, obviously it was banned off social media right away.

1640
01:15:00,945 --> 01:15:04,805
Um, have you become aware of any class action suits

1641
01:15:04,825 --> 01:15:08,325
or anything that you can direct people to, to be reinstated?

1642
01:15:09,425 --> 01:15:11,765
No, I mean, again, the companies have like complete

1643
01:15:11,965 --> 01:15:14,965
immunity so that you, you're not getting reinstated

1644
01:15:14,965 --> 01:15:16,085
unless they want you to,

1645
01:15:16,585 --> 01:15:18,445
unless you have specific assurances.

1646
01:15:18,465 --> 01:15:20,885
Unless maybe you can really show

1647
01:15:20,885 --> 01:15:21,925
that they violated their own

1648
01:15:22,205 --> 01:15:23,325
policies and you can get a good judge.

1649
01:15:23,385 --> 01:15:25,045
But no, there's no, there's no class actions.

1650
01:15:25,085 --> 01:15:28,125
I mean, um, it's like when people ask me, oh, you know,

1651
01:15:28,125 --> 01:15:29,845
are there ways to sue the vaccine companies?

1652
01:15:29,845 --> 01:15:30,885
The answer to that question is no.

1653
01:15:32,525 --> 01:15:36,045
Complete immunity is a hell of a drug, and I don't,

1654
01:15:36,065 --> 01:15:39,245
and I, you know, I think it should be,

1655
01:15:40,605 --> 01:15:42,725
I think it should be very, very rare.

1656
01:15:43,205 --> 01:15:45,805
I now having seen some of the problems that cause this, I,

1657
01:15:45,905 --> 01:15:49,005
I'm definitely a believer in a, in a strong tort system.

1658
01:15:49,505 --> 01:15:51,445
Um, so I, you know, and,

1659
01:15:51,505 --> 01:15:53,845
and having sued now these two federal suits,

1660
01:15:53,845 --> 01:15:56,405
I can tell you this idea that it's really easy to get

1661
01:15:56,405 --> 01:15:58,285
to court and to, and to win.

1662
01:15:58,285 --> 01:16:01,485
It's, it's not easy. It's certainly federal court.

1663
01:16:01,635 --> 01:16:02,635
It's not easy.

1664
01:16:05,435 --> 01:16:08,525
Certainly it seems to suit some people

1665
01:16:08,595 --> 01:16:10,405
that we fuss with each other.

1666
01:16:11,625 --> 01:16:14,365
Uh, but do you ever let yourself think about

1667
01:16:14,595 --> 01:16:17,685
what the pathway back for the left would be,

1668
01:16:17,785 --> 01:16:21,285
or what the pathway back for the right would be to get

1669
01:16:21,545 --> 01:16:23,485
to back where we can talk to each other again?

1670
01:16:24,475 --> 01:16:25,605
That is a great question.

1671
01:16:25,785 --> 01:16:29,245
Um, You know,

1672
01:16:29,325 --> 01:16:30,845
I, it's so hard.

1673
01:16:31,005 --> 01:16:32,165
I, I, I mean, I do think social

1674
01:16:32,165 --> 01:16:33,365
media is a big part of the problem.

1675
01:16:33,365 --> 01:16:36,085
It's silos people, but we're geographically siloed now too.

1676
01:16:36,285 --> 01:16:38,645
I mean, there's all these amazing studies on, I mean,

1677
01:16:38,905 --> 01:16:41,605
Putnam County, New York, which is where I live, is, is,

1678
01:16:41,605 --> 01:16:42,765
you know, it's a purple county.

1679
01:16:42,905 --> 01:16:44,085
And, and it's, you know,

1680
01:16:44,085 --> 01:16:45,765
there's not very many places like that in New York.

1681
01:16:46,505 --> 01:16:47,925
Um, there's, you know,

1682
01:16:47,945 --> 01:16:49,885
but in the south it's the same, in reverse.

1683
01:16:49,885 --> 01:16:51,725
There's not, you know, there's not that many places

1684
01:16:51,775 --> 01:16:52,805
where Republicans

1685
01:16:52,805 --> 01:16:54,725
and Democrats even live that close to each other.

1686
01:16:54,825 --> 01:16:58,765
And I, I don't really know.

1687
01:16:59,145 --> 01:17:03,325
Um, I wish I had a better answer for you.

1688
01:17:08,625 --> 01:17:09,765
You Need to, to push a button or anything?

1689
01:17:09,765 --> 01:17:12,765
No, you're good. Yep. How you gonna hold it?

1690
01:17:13,385 --> 01:17:15,845
Oh, hey, uh, my name is, my name is Bob Kerr.

1691
01:17:16,225 --> 01:17:17,925
And, uh, first I want

1692
01:17:17,925 --> 01:17:20,085
to send you greetings from Murray Gilman.

1693
01:17:20,225 --> 01:17:23,765
Oh, yes. My breakfast buddy in Atlanta, uh,

1694
01:17:24,325 --> 01:17:25,845
Murray's a pulmonologist, one

1695
01:17:25,845 --> 01:17:27,045
of the smartest guys I've ever met.

1696
01:17:27,765 --> 01:17:29,845
I guess you guys have some emails back and forth.

1697
01:17:30,105 --> 01:17:33,325
He helped you with some technical info and Yes. Yeah.

1698
01:17:33,505 --> 01:17:35,405
So yes, I

1699
01:17:35,405 --> 01:17:36,285
Wanna meet Murray. I

1700
01:17:36,285 --> 01:17:37,285
Do, yeah.

1701
01:17:37,555 --> 01:17:40,125
Well, he's in Atlanta. Yes,

1702
01:17:40,205 --> 01:17:41,565
I will, when I, When I,

1703
01:17:41,965 --> 01:17:44,205
I tell him when I come to Atlanta, I'm gonna, I'm gonna

1704
01:17:44,215 --> 01:17:45,215
Email him. I'll definitely, I'll,

1705
01:17:45,215 --> 01:17:46,325
I'll let him know.

1706
01:17:47,025 --> 01:17:50,005
Um, so part of what you were talking about

1707
01:17:50,005 --> 01:17:52,925
with misinformation and disinformation reminded me very much

1708
01:17:52,925 --> 01:17:55,525
of an interview that Tucker Carlson did with Mike Ben.

1709
01:17:55,995 --> 01:17:57,125
Have you seen that? I,

1710
01:17:57,285 --> 01:17:59,245
I have not seen it, but I it is very recent, right?

1711
01:17:59,245 --> 01:18:03,005
It's, yeah, so it is actually on, I highly recommend,

1712
01:18:03,005 --> 01:18:06,725
this is on YouTube, Tucker Carlson interviewing Mike Benz,

1713
01:18:06,995 --> 01:18:08,205
like a Mercedes-Benz.

1714
01:18:09,065 --> 01:18:10,445
So basically he goes through

1715
01:18:10,705 --> 01:18:13,525
how the government basically has controlled the information

1716
01:18:13,525 --> 01:18:15,725
that has come out for the past many, many decades.

1717
01:18:16,535 --> 01:18:19,205
First through the, uh, news channels,

1718
01:18:19,325 --> 01:18:20,885
A-B-C-N-B-C-C-B-S, et cetera.

1719
01:18:20,885 --> 01:18:24,485
And then fast forward to where the,

1720
01:18:24,625 --> 01:18:28,805
our government actually loved social media when it was like

1721
01:18:28,805 --> 01:18:30,285
outward facing, if they wanted

1722
01:18:30,285 --> 01:18:32,085
to control an election in another country,

1723
01:18:32,545 --> 01:18:34,965
how they could push certain information into certain

1724
01:18:35,325 --> 01:18:37,005
countries to sway an election.

1725
01:18:37,705 --> 01:18:38,805
So they no longer needed

1726
01:18:38,805 --> 01:18:41,525
to have the CIA doing subversive things

1727
01:18:41,545 --> 01:18:42,645
or whatever they were doing.

1728
01:18:43,625 --> 01:18:45,085
But then, like you were saying, like

1729
01:18:45,195 --> 01:18:46,925
with Trump getting elected

1730
01:18:46,985 --> 01:18:50,205
and Brexit, et cetera, they turned it in on us,

1731
01:18:50,905 --> 01:18:52,245
and they do it through the, uh,

1732
01:18:52,245 --> 01:18:53,645
department of Homeland Security.

1733
01:18:54,345 --> 01:18:57,165
So it's, it's a huge problem.

1734
01:18:58,105 --> 01:19:00,205
And I kind of have that to what you said, like the people

1735
01:19:00,405 --> 01:19:01,765
that are in charge, they're just in charge

1736
01:19:01,785 --> 01:19:05,285
and they're just like, do what they do, I think is actually

1737
01:19:05,835 --> 01:19:08,325
more nefarious in my opinion.

1738
01:19:09,305 --> 01:19:11,085
And, uh, it's pretty scary.

1739
01:19:12,145 --> 01:19:13,765
Um, it's so weird, like

1740
01:19:13,765 --> 01:19:14,965
what this man back here was

1741
01:19:14,965 --> 01:19:16,045
talking about, the left and the right.

1742
01:19:16,625 --> 01:19:21,005
My, my college friends who, like my fraternity brothers,

1743
01:19:22,565 --> 01:19:24,245
a lot of them live up around DC

1744
01:19:25,065 --> 01:19:27,885
and I had these countervailing opinions

1745
01:19:27,885 --> 01:19:30,365
because I hung out with Murray, who was my breakfast buddy

1746
01:19:30,425 --> 01:19:33,325
for years, and he would come in every day, like smoking

1747
01:19:33,425 --> 01:19:34,565
and ears about Dr.

1748
01:19:34,815 --> 01:19:36,165
Fauci, this, Dr. Fauci, that,

1749
01:19:36,665 --> 01:19:39,205
and, um, those guys up there

1750
01:19:39,205 --> 01:19:41,765
around dc they've been reading the WaPo for decades.

1751
01:19:42,545 --> 01:19:44,725
And like, they won't even talk to me

1752
01:19:44,745 --> 01:19:46,245
or email me or anything.

1753
01:19:46,745 --> 01:19:48,405
And it is just really weird.

1754
01:19:48,905 --> 01:19:51,005
And I think that, I don't know, it's like the,

1755
01:19:51,205 --> 01:19:54,245
I I think they get back to the free speech issue.

1756
01:19:54,835 --> 01:19:57,245
It's almost like they, they don't want free speech just

1757
01:19:57,245 --> 01:20:01,845
because they don't, they don't want to be explained to them

1758
01:20:01,845 --> 01:20:06,245
that they're, they're wrong. Mary,

1759
01:20:06,285 --> 01:20:07,845
I, you know, I don't know what it is.

1760
01:20:08,225 --> 01:20:10,445
We all, it would be better if both sides could listen

1761
01:20:10,505 --> 01:20:11,685
to each other a little bit more,

1762
01:20:11,685 --> 01:20:13,885
but it really is the left more than the right that is trying

1763
01:20:13,885 --> 01:20:15,885
to act, actively trying to suppress, I would say,

1764
01:20:15,885 --> 01:20:18,005
dissenting, um, opinions.

1765
01:20:18,025 --> 01:20:20,805
And, and the left has more of the media,

1766
01:20:20,995 --> 01:20:22,445
more certainly all of academia.

1767
01:20:22,505 --> 01:20:24,405
And so, so it has more power to do this.

1768
01:20:24,405 --> 01:20:26,765
And I do think that's, I think that's some

1769
01:20:26,765 --> 01:20:29,805
of the frustration on the, on the left is that, uh,

1770
01:20:30,545 --> 01:20:34,775
you know, despite all of this sort of cultural control,

1771
01:20:35,245 --> 01:20:37,415
they, you know, Donald Trump still got elected.

1772
01:20:37,415 --> 01:20:39,815
He's lost control. So, yes. Anyway, I'm sorry.

1773
01:20:40,995 --> 01:20:43,655
Uh, hi Alex, uh, Greg and my wife Vivian.

1774
01:20:43,755 --> 01:20:45,895
And, uh, thank you very much for this presentation.

1775
01:20:46,435 --> 01:20:50,495
Um, how should we look at these MRA vaccines now?

1776
01:20:50,715 --> 01:20:52,015
What's the future holding

1777
01:20:52,475 --> 01:20:54,335
for this technology and for this approach?

1778
01:20:54,795 --> 01:20:56,055
Um, you know, I think

1779
01:20:56,055 --> 01:20:57,295
that's a, that's a really good question.

1780
01:20:57,555 --> 01:21:01,975
Uh, I imagine if Covid had never happened,

1781
01:21:02,675 --> 01:21:03,815
um, there would be,

1782
01:21:04,015 --> 01:21:05,535
I don't think there'd be any mRNA

1783
01:21:05,535 --> 01:21:06,695
product on the market right now.

1784
01:21:06,695 --> 01:21:09,015
The, the cancer magazines might be moving forward.

1785
01:21:09,715 --> 01:21:12,935
Um, look, there, it is clearly a powerful technology.

1786
01:21:13,235 --> 01:21:16,095
You can make your body synthesize, you know,

1787
01:21:16,295 --> 01:21:19,375
whatever protein a scientist wants it to, to synthesize.

1788
01:21:19,435 --> 01:21:21,815
And that is powerful. And, um,

1789
01:21:23,305 --> 01:21:26,565
and, you know, when it comes to, uh,

1790
01:21:28,165 --> 01:21:30,105
you know, cancer or stuff where, you know,

1791
01:21:30,245 --> 01:21:31,785
you may have exhausted all the treatments

1792
01:21:31,925 --> 01:21:35,905
or it's, you know, it's very complicated biologically, um,

1793
01:21:36,215 --> 01:21:37,625
there's certainly gonna be a place

1794
01:21:37,765 --> 01:21:40,425
for experimental aggressive technology.

1795
01:21:41,285 --> 01:21:44,905
Um, I don't think a vaccine that was given

1796
01:21:44,925 --> 01:21:48,985
to 1.3 billion people was the best place to start playing

1797
01:21:48,985 --> 01:21:51,265
around with something that had never been used in humans

1798
01:21:51,265 --> 01:21:52,825
outside of clinical trials before.

1799
01:21:52,825 --> 01:21:57,425
That's just me. Um, I, I, I think the vaccines,

1800
01:21:58,395 --> 01:22:00,345
again, I think one thing that should have happened

1801
01:22:00,345 --> 01:22:04,985
with the mRNAs is that they, the government should have said

1802
01:22:05,085 --> 01:22:09,185
to, to Pfizer and Moderna and to Nova vaccine, and j

1803
01:22:09,185 --> 01:22:12,945
and j you were not paying for any of this

1804
01:22:13,205 --> 01:22:15,025
unless you, we tested head to head

1805
01:22:15,525 --> 01:22:17,905
and they should have had an old school vaccine.

1806
01:22:18,125 --> 01:22:19,425
Old school vaccines are very simple.

1807
01:22:19,645 --> 01:22:22,185
You take the virus, you put it in formaldehyde

1808
01:22:22,185 --> 01:22:24,865
or something to inactivate it, so it cannot reproduce.

1809
01:22:25,405 --> 01:22:26,745
Or you take a piece of it

1810
01:22:27,165 --> 01:22:29,145
and you give it to somebody with a little bit of aluminum

1811
01:22:29,405 --> 01:22:30,465
or some adjuvant

1812
01:22:30,465 --> 01:22:32,985
to make the immune system notice it, and that's it.

1813
01:22:33,735 --> 01:22:37,705
Okay. And that's, you know, I mean,

1814
01:22:37,725 --> 01:22:39,225
I'm exaggerating slightly, but that's it.

1815
01:22:39,845 --> 01:22:41,425
And we know how that technology works.

1816
01:22:41,685 --> 01:22:45,265
We know it works pretty well for stuff like measles where,

1817
01:22:45,685 --> 01:22:47,625
and I don't want get, again, I don't wanna get into the,

1818
01:22:48,165 --> 01:22:49,305
I'm pretty convinced about that.

1819
01:22:49,335 --> 01:22:52,505
Okay. The general, the vaccine technology's pretty simple

1820
01:22:52,965 --> 01:22:55,265
and effective for those vaccines.

1821
01:22:55,325 --> 01:22:56,945
For respiratory viruses, no,

1822
01:22:56,945 --> 01:22:59,505
because respiratory viruses mutate too

1823
01:22:59,505 --> 01:23:00,665
fast and they're too slippery.

1824
01:23:00,855 --> 01:23:03,425
They don't really work for flu at all, in my opinion.

1825
01:23:03,965 --> 01:23:05,965
Um, and any data that shows

1826
01:23:05,965 --> 01:23:08,805
that they do is just epidemiological nonsense,

1827
01:23:09,665 --> 01:23:12,245
and they don't work very well for covid

1828
01:23:12,465 --> 01:23:13,725
for much the same reason.

1829
01:23:13,875 --> 01:23:17,685
Okay. But we should have gone head to head to head to head

1830
01:23:17,685 --> 01:23:19,205
to head with all these different technologies.

1831
01:23:19,395 --> 01:23:21,165
They didn't want to do that because they wanted

1832
01:23:21,985 --> 01:23:23,925
to get it out as quickly as possible.

1833
01:23:24,265 --> 01:23:27,725
And I think there was this hometown mRNA idea.

1834
01:23:28,345 --> 01:23:30,925
So where we are now is that

1835
01:23:32,985 --> 01:23:35,765
in early 2021, they, they, they've done so many things

1836
01:23:35,765 --> 01:23:37,405
that they shouldn't have done that nobody understands.

1837
01:23:37,915 --> 01:23:40,445
They blew up the clinical trials, okay?

1838
01:23:40,835 --> 01:23:44,725
What they said was, we know this thing works, it's unethical

1839
01:23:44,865 --> 01:23:47,005
to continue the placebo arm.

1840
01:23:47,585 --> 01:23:49,525
And by the way, they, they knew that a lot

1841
01:23:49,525 --> 01:23:51,445
of the people in the placebo arm really wanted the vaccine

1842
01:23:51,705 --> 01:23:53,485
and were gonna, would, would go get it whether

1843
01:23:53,485 --> 01:23:54,525
they were allowed to or not.

1844
01:23:54,625 --> 01:23:56,005
You can't actually stop somebody.

1845
01:23:56,865 --> 01:23:58,865
So they just essentially ended the trials.

1846
01:23:59,165 --> 01:24:02,345
So we have no clean long-term safety data

1847
01:24:02,445 --> 01:24:04,105
to have clean, long-term safety data.

1848
01:24:04,445 --> 01:24:06,745
You have to have a, have a randomized control trial

1849
01:24:06,885 --> 01:24:08,025
and it has to go for a while.

1850
01:24:08,685 --> 01:24:10,585
We have a few months of safety data.

1851
01:24:11,205 --> 01:24:12,625
We have no idea, you know,

1852
01:24:12,625 --> 01:24:13,905
there's been an increase in cardiac

1853
01:24:14,525 --> 01:24:17,545
deaths in the US since 2020, not 2021.

1854
01:24:17,545 --> 01:24:21,665
2020, okay. Covid definitely kills some people from cardiac.

1855
01:24:22,135 --> 01:24:25,065
Okay, but why hasn't it gone back down?

1856
01:24:25,115 --> 01:24:28,265
Covid isn't really killing that many people anymore.

1857
01:24:29,045 --> 01:24:30,905
Why are we still at elevated cardiac deaths?

1858
01:24:30,905 --> 01:24:32,025
Is it 'cause of the vaccines?

1859
01:24:32,025 --> 01:24:34,865
Is it because nobody, you know, everyone sat home for a year

1860
01:24:34,885 --> 01:24:36,585
and, you know, and gained 20 pounds?

1861
01:24:37,565 --> 01:24:39,785
Is it, is it lingering covid effects?

1862
01:24:40,645 --> 01:24:42,945
Nobody has an answer to that question.

1863
01:24:43,285 --> 01:24:44,945
And we have ensured we will never

1864
01:24:45,015 --> 01:24:46,105
have an answer to that question.

1865
01:24:46,445 --> 01:24:49,305
So where are the MA mRNAs Now, as far as I'm concerned,

1866
01:24:49,305 --> 01:24:50,825
they're quasi experimental technology.

1867
01:24:51,425 --> 01:24:53,825
I don't, and and frankly, most Americans agree with that.

1868
01:24:53,825 --> 01:24:57,385
If you look at how many or how few people are getting them,

1869
01:24:57,685 --> 01:24:59,185
and it's not just in the us okay?

1870
01:24:59,185 --> 01:25:00,705
Australia, they,

1871
01:25:01,145 --> 01:25:02,705
I didn't know this about Australia until Covid.

1872
01:25:03,345 --> 01:25:04,545
I thought, you know, I had this sort

1873
01:25:04,545 --> 01:25:05,825
of like romantic American idea.

1874
01:25:05,825 --> 01:25:08,145
It's Australia, it's the crocodile landee.

1875
01:25:08,205 --> 01:25:09,745
And no, as somebody said to me,

1876
01:25:09,745 --> 01:25:12,145
Australia is Massachusetts with a desert.

1877
01:25:12,845 --> 01:25:14,425
No, really? It's very blue,

1878
01:25:14,695 --> 01:25:16,745
it's very progressive, it's very blue.

1879
01:25:17,365 --> 01:25:19,465
Um, and they were very, very,

1880
01:25:19,465 --> 01:25:20,945
they locked down incredibly hard.

1881
01:25:21,105 --> 01:25:23,745
I mean, it was basically impossible to get into

1882
01:25:23,745 --> 01:25:25,145
or out of Australia for two years.

1883
01:25:25,215 --> 01:25:27,105
Even if you were Australian, they made it very hard.

1884
01:25:27,805 --> 01:25:31,945
And then they, you know, they pushed the vaccine hard.

1885
01:25:32,095 --> 01:25:34,425
Everybody got vaccinated, everybody wanted it.

1886
01:25:34,425 --> 01:25:36,065
Everybody got it. Everybody got a booster.

1887
01:25:37,085 --> 01:25:39,305
Now, I think something like 5%

1888
01:25:39,305 --> 01:25:41,785
of Australian adults got the new shot.

1889
01:25:42,455 --> 01:25:44,425
This thing has been rejected.

1890
01:25:45,205 --> 01:25:49,385
Um, and, and so that suggests to me that people, whether

1891
01:25:49,385 --> 01:25:50,745
or not they say it publicly, whether

1892
01:25:50,745 --> 01:25:55,105
or not they tell pollsters, they, they don't,

1893
01:25:55,255 --> 01:25:58,145
they don't really, they're a little nervous about mRNA

1894
01:25:58,145 --> 01:26:00,665
technology, and they should be, not

1895
01:26:00,665 --> 01:26:02,545
because there's necessarily something wrong, not

1896
01:26:02,545 --> 01:26:04,085
because, you know,

1897
01:26:04,085 --> 01:26:05,845
people are gonna stop dropping like flies.

1898
01:26:05,965 --> 01:26:09,125
I don't think that's gonna happen. But it is a, it is a,

1899
01:26:09,505 --> 01:26:10,685
it is a new technology.

1900
01:26:10,705 --> 01:26:12,125
It is a powerful technology.

1901
01:26:12,785 --> 01:26:16,245
The the lipid nanoparticle that it's encased in into,

1902
01:26:16,245 --> 01:26:19,205
to get into your body is a, is also very complex.

1903
01:26:19,305 --> 01:26:20,485
And we don't really understand

1904
01:26:20,485 --> 01:26:22,925
what repeated injections would that can do to people.

1905
01:26:24,745 --> 01:26:29,485
Um, you know, I I never understood why people

1906
01:26:29,485 --> 01:26:32,125
who were reasonably healthy were rushing to get this thing.

1907
01:26:32,345 --> 01:26:35,285
Um, I mean my, I you know, the old line is never been,

1908
01:26:35,335 --> 01:26:38,005
never be the first person or the last person to take a drug.

1909
01:26:38,705 --> 01:26:40,645
And my joke about this is that, you know,

1910
01:26:40,645 --> 01:26:42,685
this is the first time in history when rich white people

1911
01:26:42,685 --> 01:26:44,005
demand it to be the volunteers.

1912
01:26:45,165 --> 01:26:48,085
I mean, you know, it's not really a joke. It's pretty true.

1913
01:26:48,825 --> 01:26:52,765
Um, so, so I think, you know, I think we're kind of back

1914
01:26:52,765 --> 01:26:53,885
to 2020 with mRNA.

1915
01:26:53,935 --> 01:26:55,605
We'll see, it'll be very, you know, there's a couple,

1916
01:26:55,605 --> 01:26:58,485
there's an mRNA vaccine for RSV.

1917
01:26:59,265 --> 01:27:01,445
Um, there's an mRNA vaccine from the flu.

1918
01:27:01,545 --> 01:27:03,325
The data on those, again, they,

1919
01:27:03,355 --> 01:27:05,005
they make you make a lot of antibodies.

1920
01:27:05,035 --> 01:27:06,205
They look good short term.

1921
01:27:07,195 --> 01:27:10,765
It's gonna be very interesting to see if the FDA, you know,

1922
01:27:10,875 --> 01:27:12,245
sort of allows those to go forward.

1923
01:27:12,245 --> 01:27:14,845
Because certainly inside the agency, they're gonna be aware

1924
01:27:14,845 --> 01:27:16,285
that if they ask too many questions

1925
01:27:16,305 --> 01:27:17,565
and push back too hard,

1926
01:27:18,395 --> 01:27:20,925
it's gonna raise questions about the covid approvals.

1927
01:27:21,105 --> 01:27:25,045
So, you know, they may, they may allow the, the vaccines

1928
01:27:25,045 --> 01:27:26,765
to move forward and just hope the market

1929
01:27:26,765 --> 01:27:27,925
takes care of the problem for them.

1930
01:27:28,055 --> 01:27:29,055
We'll see.

1931
01:27:33,625 --> 01:27:34,965
My name is Bob Perkins

1932
01:27:35,305 --> 01:27:37,085
and, um, in the Deceivers,

1933
01:27:37,675 --> 01:27:39,885
your characters enjoyed my son's whiskey

1934
01:27:40,185 --> 01:27:41,405
and he sent you a T-shirt.

1935
01:27:41,505 --> 01:27:43,685
Oh yeah. I'll tell you about the new whiskey later.

1936
01:27:44,305 --> 01:27:47,525
So you described being punished by, um, some

1937
01:27:47,745 --> 01:27:49,725
as a class traitor.

1938
01:27:49,815 --> 01:27:51,165
Could you talk about that a little bit?

1939
01:27:51,705 --> 01:27:54,245
And also, many of those folks are journalists,

1940
01:27:54,485 --> 01:27:56,205
I assume, and publishers.

1941
01:27:56,865 --> 01:28:00,005
And, uh, I am curious about why,

1942
01:28:00,055 --> 01:28:02,525
since your material is very factual,

1943
01:28:03,465 --> 01:28:05,605
why they were seemingly immune to it.

1944
01:28:06,745 --> 01:28:09,125
Um, 'cause they didn't want to hear it.

1945
01:28:09,785 --> 01:28:14,765
Um, okay, so look, I I,

1946
01:28:15,185 --> 01:28:18,005
you know, went to a fancy private high school in New York.

1947
01:28:18,405 --> 01:28:21,405
I went to Yale, worked in New York Times for 10 years.

1948
01:28:21,965 --> 01:28:24,965
I, you know, I was published by, uh, by Random House,

1949
01:28:25,145 --> 01:28:28,845
you know, I I I am one of them, okay?

1950
01:28:29,635 --> 01:28:33,725
They, they like to look down on people

1951
01:28:33,745 --> 01:28:35,005
and think that people who disagree

1952
01:28:35,005 --> 01:28:36,325
with them are stupider than they're,

1953
01:28:36,325 --> 01:28:38,085
that is very hard for them to do with me.

1954
01:28:38,435 --> 01:28:39,445
They don't like it.

1955
01:28:39,835 --> 01:28:42,645
They don't like the idea that I might be right about some

1956
01:28:42,645 --> 01:28:44,805
of this stuff and they might be wrong about it.

1957
01:28:45,585 --> 01:28:47,685
So, so I'm a class traitor.

1958
01:28:48,145 --> 01:28:52,765
Um, and you know, I've,

1959
01:28:53,565 --> 01:28:57,125
I I, I did account one time pretty recently, actually.

1960
01:28:57,125 --> 01:28:58,925
It was too depressing, so I haven't done it again.

1961
01:28:58,925 --> 01:29:00,925
But yeah, I've lost 75% of my friends.

1962
01:29:01,385 --> 01:29:03,445
Uh, you know, as I said, when I,

1963
01:29:03,445 --> 01:29:05,605
people sometimes accuse me on Twitter when I,

1964
01:29:05,605 --> 01:29:08,045
when I'm not conspiratorial enough for them, they say to me,

1965
01:29:08,385 --> 01:29:09,765
you just wanna get back to New York Times.

1966
01:29:09,905 --> 01:29:13,925
And I say, it's not that that ship has sailed, that

1967
01:29:14,035 --> 01:29:16,965
that ship has been set on fire and launched into the sun.

1968
01:29:17,825 --> 01:29:19,405
That's not happening. Okay?

1969
01:29:19,795 --> 01:29:21,005
Like, I, you know,

1970
01:29:21,065 --> 01:29:23,325
if if the Substack goes away, I'm gonna have a problem.

1971
01:29:24,305 --> 01:29:28,205
So, so like, I, I am where I am now

1972
01:29:28,585 --> 01:29:32,805
and you know, I think I've done my best to tell the truth,

1973
01:29:33,105 --> 01:29:34,165
and I think I've done my best.

1974
01:29:34,665 --> 01:29:35,765
If I make a mistake,

1975
01:29:35,845 --> 01:29:38,125
I made a bad mistake on Substack the other day.

1976
01:29:38,245 --> 01:29:41,125
I corrected it immediately. I retracted the story.

1977
01:29:41,125 --> 01:29:44,685
That's all I can do. That's how I do journalism. Okay.

1978
01:29:45,265 --> 01:29:49,315
Um, but yeah, you know,

1979
01:29:50,815 --> 01:29:53,435
the, the people who think you should be one of them,

1980
01:29:54,455 --> 01:29:56,675
if you show them you're not, they don't like it.

1981
01:30:01,175 --> 01:30:03,275
Um, to the point

1982
01:30:03,275 --> 01:30:06,475
that you've been talking about the federal government,

1983
01:30:07,455 --> 01:30:12,435
big business, high tech, and to your point on the right

1984
01:30:12,495 --> 01:30:13,795
and the left getting together.

1985
01:30:14,415 --> 01:30:18,475
So there's a very interesting book published last year,

1986
01:30:19,265 --> 01:30:24,195
live Not By Lies, and it interviews a number of people that

1987
01:30:25,435 --> 01:30:28,835
survived and how they fought back against the tyranny

1988
01:30:28,835 --> 01:30:32,955
of fascism and totalitarianism in the Eastern block.

1989
01:30:34,255 --> 01:30:36,155
So you might get some answers there.

1990
01:30:36,815 --> 01:30:41,795
And it, it's really a good wake up call that as Americans,

1991
01:30:42,955 --> 01:30:44,225
we've got this opportunity,

1992
01:30:45,285 --> 01:30:46,865
but we could lose it pretty quick.

1993
01:30:47,765 --> 01:30:50,345
And the stories out of Eastern Europe are, are

1994
01:30:51,095 --> 01:30:52,145
very devastating.

1995
01:30:52,845 --> 01:30:57,215
Um, my wife, um, is

1996
01:30:58,035 --> 01:31:01,015
my challenge on, on medical issues.

1997
01:31:01,435 --> 01:31:05,975
Um, she's, she's lives on the, on the web and,

1998
01:31:06,115 --> 01:31:08,895
and I think has given, given me very good guidance

1999
01:31:09,325 --> 01:31:10,455
through all this.

2000
01:31:10,955 --> 01:31:14,055
Um, I have four customers that were all doctors

2001
01:31:14,195 --> 01:31:16,655
and they were all pushing me to get vaccinated.

2002
01:31:17,515 --> 01:31:19,495
Um, she said, no way.

2003
01:31:20,155 --> 01:31:24,175
Um, I'm very thankful that we didn't, um, we were healthy

2004
01:31:24,795 --> 01:31:28,015
and we think we had covid before there was a vaccine.

2005
01:31:28,715 --> 01:31:32,175
So we very quickly subscribed to the theory

2006
01:31:32,315 --> 01:31:33,335
of natural immunity.

2007
01:31:33,835 --> 01:31:35,055
And we've done very well.

2008
01:31:35,835 --> 01:31:39,655
Um, the medical community

2009
01:31:40,375 --> 01:31:42,215
I think has lost a lot of credibility.

2010
01:31:43,435 --> 01:31:45,415
And I don't know if you've got any comments.

2011
01:31:45,695 --> 01:31:49,055
I mean, Lapido here in, in Florida is trying to,

2012
01:31:49,195 --> 01:31:50,735
to fight back, I think and,

2013
01:31:50,875 --> 01:31:53,135
and to hold some of the big pharma

2014
01:31:53,315 --> 01:31:55,175
to task on what's going on.

2015
01:31:55,675 --> 01:31:59,405
Um, you know, is there a, is there some stuff that's safe?

2016
01:32:00,025 --> 01:32:02,765
You know, old vaccines and, and what, what, what is,

2017
01:32:03,285 --> 01:32:06,645
I mean, yes, there's a so interesting you say

2018
01:32:06,645 --> 01:32:08,365
that about Eastern Europe, um,

2019
01:32:08,435 --> 01:32:12,485
because, uh, you know, I would, a lot of the people

2020
01:32:12,485 --> 01:32:14,805
who were sort of early on team reality

2021
01:32:15,595 --> 01:32:18,885
were from Eastern Europe, so they were very well aware

2022
01:32:18,885 --> 01:32:22,125
of government propaganda and, and, um, and,

2023
01:32:22,705 --> 01:32:24,205
and pushing back against it.

2024
01:32:24,705 --> 01:32:29,125
Um, uh, and, and that's natural immunity is a great point.

2025
01:32:29,125 --> 01:32:30,605
It's something I don't talk about a lot

2026
01:32:30,705 --> 01:32:32,445
or enough, which is that there was this,

2027
01:32:32,615 --> 01:32:35,005
early on there was a debate, natural.

2028
01:32:35,675 --> 01:32:37,005
It's not just, it's not natural immunity,

2029
01:32:37,005 --> 01:32:38,085
it's just immunity, okay?

2030
01:32:38,085 --> 01:32:41,245
You get sick, your immune system responds like this isn't,

2031
01:32:41,245 --> 01:32:43,525
this was never a debate among virologists

2032
01:32:43,545 --> 01:32:44,965
or immunologists until covid.

2033
01:32:45,025 --> 01:32:47,805
And they decided they wanted people who'd already gotten

2034
01:32:47,815 --> 01:32:49,445
covid to get vaccinated.

2035
01:32:49,445 --> 01:32:51,485
So they started talking about hybrid immunity, which

2036
01:32:52,345 --> 01:32:55,125
no one had ever discussed as anything before.

2037
01:32:55,355 --> 01:32:59,165
Okay? And every, every immunologist, even the ones

2038
01:32:59,165 --> 01:33:01,445
who you know, think you should be vaccinated 83 times

2039
01:33:01,715 --> 01:33:05,045
with mRNAs will tell you natural immunity is always better.

2040
01:33:05,555 --> 01:33:07,125
It's, it's more robust.

2041
01:33:07,905 --> 01:33:11,045
So the fact that the medical community wouldn't admit that

2042
01:33:11,045 --> 01:33:13,325
with COD is, you know, that's one

2043
01:33:13,325 --> 01:33:15,405
of those real puzzling questions.

2044
01:33:15,405 --> 01:33:17,725
Like, why wouldn't they just be honest about that?

2045
01:33:17,865 --> 01:33:20,205
And it does seem to me that there is a,

2046
01:33:20,205 --> 01:33:22,245
you can have a non conspiratorial explanation,

2047
01:33:22,245 --> 01:33:24,845
which was just basically, they didn't want people saying,

2048
01:33:24,865 --> 01:33:26,885
oh, I got Covid so I'm not gonna be vaccinated.

2049
01:33:26,885 --> 01:33:28,685
Right? They want, they think you're dumb.

2050
01:33:29,235 --> 01:33:31,125
They want it to be as simple as possible.

2051
01:33:31,125 --> 01:33:33,445
Everybody's six months and older needs to get this.

2052
01:33:33,705 --> 01:33:36,645
It doesn't matter if you had it or not, you got, you know,

2053
01:33:37,225 --> 01:33:38,485
and then you gotta get it again.

2054
01:33:38,545 --> 01:33:40,205
You gotta get it again. It doesn't matter if you're healthy

2055
01:33:40,265 --> 01:33:41,805
or sick, you have to have it.

2056
01:33:42,155 --> 01:33:44,565
That was what they wanted the recommendations to be

2057
01:33:45,065 --> 01:33:47,325
and that was what the recommendations were.

2058
01:33:47,585 --> 01:33:49,325
And yeah, they did a lot of damage to themselves.

2059
01:33:50,065 --> 01:33:52,605
Um, so I, I know we've gone on and on.

2060
01:33:52,685 --> 01:33:54,085
I would like to take one question from

2061
01:33:54,085 --> 01:33:55,285
someone who is not male.

2062
01:33:56,105 --> 01:34:00,405
Oh, me, totally. Me, me, me. Take two. Take two.

2063
01:34:01,435 --> 01:34:05,045
Okay. This is the last one, so it's, oh, last one.

2064
01:34:05,265 --> 01:34:09,525
No pressure to make it good. Alright.

2065
01:34:09,705 --> 01:34:13,605
As, as a writer, um, I'm very happy that you are here

2066
01:34:13,745 --> 01:34:16,925
and, uh, and that you are fighting for, uh,

2067
01:34:16,925 --> 01:34:18,645
freedom of speech.

2068
01:34:19,145 --> 01:34:20,645
And so that's what brought me here.

2069
01:34:20,645 --> 01:34:22,765
Thank you for being here. Sorry, the weather isn't

2070
01:34:22,765 --> 01:34:23,805
as warm as you needed it to be.

2071
01:34:24,555 --> 01:34:29,205
Okay. So stick with me. Two part question for discourse.

2072
01:34:30,025 --> 01:34:33,485
So the First Amendment alludes to the Declaration

2073
01:34:33,485 --> 01:34:36,725
of Independence's, promise of the Pursuit of happiness.

2074
01:34:37,715 --> 01:34:40,965
With that reminder for fun,

2075
01:34:41,825 --> 01:34:46,205
how do the tobacco control laws parallel with

2076
01:34:46,325 --> 01:34:49,325
what expectations we can expect Congress

2077
01:34:49,385 --> 01:34:51,285
to monitor social media content?

2078
01:34:52,585 --> 01:34:54,045
And wait, I said it was two part.

2079
01:34:54,345 --> 01:34:57,645
And, um, so

2080
01:34:58,545 --> 01:35:00,885
the First Amendment also set the precedent

2081
01:35:01,115 --> 01:35:04,685
that the court was to, um, use free speech.

2082
01:35:04,685 --> 01:35:07,245
That there should be no harm, there shall be no harm.

2083
01:35:08,545 --> 01:35:10,405
How does purposefully writing

2084
01:35:11,265 --> 01:35:16,245
or keeping posted false information settle

2085
01:35:16,955 --> 01:35:18,085
Thou shalt do no harm?

2086
01:35:18,955 --> 01:35:22,445
Well, so, I mean, again, if false information, if you're,

2087
01:35:22,505 --> 01:35:24,765
you know, if you're trying to profit, if you're trying

2088
01:35:24,765 --> 01:35:28,725
to hurt somebody, uh, I, not all speech is protected, right?

2089
01:35:28,825 --> 01:35:33,445
So I, I think, but again, we have criminal laws.

2090
01:35:33,955 --> 01:35:35,365
Sometimes we have civil, you know,

2091
01:35:35,365 --> 01:35:37,005
civil laws are civil suits.

2092
01:35:37,545 --> 01:35:40,245
Um, and you know, then you have the protection of courts.

2093
01:35:40,315 --> 01:35:44,125
It's not, it's not done with a, with an FBI agent

2094
01:35:44,745 --> 01:35:47,765
in San Francisco saying, I don't like this tweet.

2095
01:35:48,065 --> 01:35:49,965
Uh, you know, and Twitter saying, okay, we'll take care

2096
01:35:49,965 --> 01:35:51,165
of it, which is really what happened.

2097
01:35:51,165 --> 01:35:53,885
There's a clear evidence that, that that happened

2098
01:35:53,885 --> 01:35:55,885
and not once or twice it was happening regularly.

2099
01:35:56,625 --> 01:35:59,685
Um, the other,

2100
01:35:59,945 --> 01:36:01,565
the first part of that question about tobacco.

2101
01:36:01,705 --> 01:36:03,525
So tobacco is a little confusing to people.

2102
01:36:04,155 --> 01:36:05,405
Essentially, the First Amendment

2103
01:36:05,605 --> 01:36:06,925
protects commercial speech too.

2104
01:36:07,385 --> 01:36:11,005
So I think drug company advertising is terrible. Okay?

2105
01:36:11,365 --> 01:36:13,525
I don't think that it should be allowed.

2106
01:36:13,685 --> 01:36:15,485
I think it's a real problem. Okay?

2107
01:36:15,585 --> 01:36:18,045
It drives a cost, it gets people to want medicine.

2108
01:36:18,045 --> 01:36:22,925
They don't necessarily need, you can't ban it, okay?

2109
01:36:22,925 --> 01:36:24,725
You can't ban lawyers from advertising.

2110
01:36:24,745 --> 01:36:26,965
You can't ban, uh, hospital.

2111
01:36:27,085 --> 01:36:28,685
I mean, why are hospitals advertising, by the way?

2112
01:36:28,685 --> 01:36:29,685
They're just advertising.

2113
01:36:29,685 --> 01:36:31,205
So you don't hate them quite as much.

2114
01:36:31,205 --> 01:36:33,765
Nobody actually wants to go to the hospital, right?

2115
01:36:34,425 --> 01:36:37,805
So, uh, so you can't ban any of it.

2116
01:36:37,955 --> 01:36:39,005
It's commercial speech,

2117
01:36:39,145 --> 01:36:41,685
but it's speech, it's allowed, um,

2118
01:36:41,745 --> 01:36:44,605
the tobacco companies gave up their rights to advertise

2119
01:36:44,725 --> 01:36:46,725
'cause they were afraid of being sued into oblivion.

2120
01:36:47,105 --> 01:36:49,445
Uh, you know, in the, in the eighties, um,

2121
01:36:50,115 --> 01:36:51,845
when the documents showing that they had known

2122
01:36:51,845 --> 01:36:54,085
how addictive, uh, nicotine once came out, they,

2123
01:36:54,085 --> 01:36:55,565
they voluntarily gave that up.

2124
01:36:56,105 --> 01:36:57,245
Um, but

2125
01:36:57,345 --> 01:37:02,045
unless an industry, I mean, may, there's some fantasy world

2126
01:37:02,045 --> 01:37:04,805
where somehow the US government says to the drug companies,

2127
01:37:04,805 --> 01:37:06,885
were not gonna put you on the Medicare formulary

2128
01:37:06,965 --> 01:37:08,285
unless you could just stop advertising.

2129
01:37:08,485 --> 01:37:10,725
I think that even that would be considered unconstitutional.

2130
01:37:10,725 --> 01:37:14,125
I don't know. But, um, maybe, maybe that's a way to do it.

2131
01:37:14,125 --> 01:37:18,405
Otherwise, you're gonna be watching ads for Ozempic,

2132
01:37:18,985 --> 01:37:20,285
you know, for the next a hundred years

2133
01:37:20,425 --> 01:37:22,845
or until the patent comes off, whichever is sooner.

2134
01:37:23,065 --> 01:37:26,805
Um, so, so yeah, that's, that's the country we live in.

2135
01:37:27,105 --> 01:37:28,365
All kinds of speeches allowed.

2136
01:37:30,375 --> 01:37:32,685
Again, I think there's problems with that,

2137
01:37:33,145 --> 01:37:36,685
but I guess, I think overall it's preferable

2138
01:37:36,785 --> 01:37:38,005
to the any alternative.

2139
01:37:38,585 --> 01:37:41,565
So thank you all. It's like eight o'clock now or, or 7 45.

2140
01:37:41,815 --> 01:37:43,765
Thank you. You've been really patient with me.

2141
01:37:44,365 --> 01:37:46,325
I appreciate it. David, thank you for setting this up.

2142
01:37:46,325 --> 01:37:48,485
It's been great. Um, I,

2143
01:37:48,515 --> 01:37:50,205
I'll sign some books if you wanna buy 'em,

2144
01:37:55,965 --> 01:37:56,965
Everyone. I have just one or two

2145
01:37:56,965 --> 01:37:57,805
announcements, please.

2146
01:37:57,925 --> 01:37:59,525
I actually had a whole list of people to thank,

2147
01:37:59,525 --> 01:38:02,685
but Dave Ramsey stepped in and, uh, took it off my plate.

2148
01:38:02,805 --> 01:38:05,285
A few people though, i, I, I would of course like

2149
01:38:05,285 --> 01:38:06,845
to thank the Seligman, uh, family

2150
01:38:06,905 --> 01:38:08,205
and the First Amendment series

2151
01:38:08,225 --> 01:38:10,165
and the Panhandle Tiger Bay Club as well.

2152
01:38:10,705 --> 01:38:12,565
We have other events coming up.

2153
01:38:13,145 --> 01:38:15,205
So on Tuesday night here in the Museum of Commerce,

2154
01:38:15,375 --> 01:38:17,645
we're gonna have a talk about police militarization.

2155
01:38:18,505 --> 01:38:20,885
Uh, and then Jefferson Cowie, the author

2156
01:38:20,885 --> 01:38:22,765
of Freedom's Dominion, is coming, uh,

2157
01:38:22,895 --> 01:38:24,805
March 14th at the Rex Theater.

2158
01:38:25,625 --> 01:38:27,805
And on April 1st, we're gonna have Patrick deem talk about,

2159
01:38:28,265 --> 01:38:31,085
uh, after liberalism on constitutional law.

2160
01:38:31,625 --> 01:38:33,765
So all of these events are free

2161
01:38:33,985 --> 01:38:35,645
and they are open to the public.

2162
01:38:36,105 --> 01:38:37,605
So if you enjoyed yourself,

2163
01:38:37,625 --> 01:38:39,365
or even if you didn't enjoy yourself,

2164
01:38:39,465 --> 01:38:42,805
but you appreciate the spirit behind these events

2165
01:38:42,985 --> 01:38:44,485
and behind civil discourse

2166
01:38:44,905 --> 01:38:47,285
and behind the cultural life of Pensacola,

2167
01:38:47,945 --> 01:38:50,805
please consider donating to the College of Art,

2168
01:38:50,805 --> 01:38:52,085
social Science, and the Humanities

2169
01:38:52,085 --> 01:38:53,205
to keep these events free.

2170
01:38:53,835 --> 01:38:57,445
There's a QR code on the back of your flyer, so just scan

2171
01:38:57,445 --> 01:38:58,925
that and it'll take you to a page.

2172
01:38:59,665 --> 01:39:01,605
And if you have other ideas for topics

2173
01:39:01,905 --> 01:39:04,245
or for events, you, you can please email us.

2174
01:39:04,255 --> 01:39:06,885
We're very open to the public giving us information on

2175
01:39:06,995 --> 01:39:08,245
what they would like to see.

2176
01:39:09,745 --> 01:39:11,925
So besides that, thank you everybody for coming,

2177
01:39:11,945 --> 01:39:14,965
and please travel safe and the authors over here.

2178
01:39:15,065 --> 01:39:15,485
Thanks.