MJ's Reviews, Thoughts, & More
MJ reviews books from both traditional and indie published authors. MJ also gives his opinions on current events and more.
Season 5 update: Zach joins the show and adds his voice to the mix.
MJ's Reviews, Thoughts, & More
From Metallica's Warfare Soundtrack to Chick-fil-A's Futuristic Drive-Thru: Exploring Automation, Politics, and Social Issues
What if the music you love was used in ways you never imagined? We kick off this episode with the shocking revelation that Metallica's "Enter Sandman" was used as psychological warfare during the Iraq War, alongside tracks from Barney the Dinosaur and Sesame Street. Dive into Metallica's stance on this controversial use of their music and their efforts to stop it. Then, shift gears as we explore Chick-fil-A's groundbreaking new store design in Georgia, which boasts an elevated restaurant where the drive-thru zips through the building, promising to deliver meals every six seconds.
Ever wondered how automation could reshape the fast food industry? We'll take you through the history of McDonald's automated fryers and discuss the feasibility of automating burger preparation. Economic factors like rising minimum wages and the growing use of self-service kiosks are pushing fast food chains towards a future where efficiency and technology rule. We also cover the evolution of restaurant models, considering app-only services and drive-thru-only setups, and touch on the impact of political endorsements in elections with figures like RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard.
Get ready for a deep dive into societal issues as we recount the unusual story of a young girl identifying as a cat and the broader implications of woke ideology on parenting. From cultural differences in food quality and the rise of food allergies to the wastefulness of modern consumption, we cover it all. We then tackle the complex issue of gang-controlled apartment complexes and the challenges law enforcement faces in these environments. This episode is packed with thought-provoking discussions and real-world examples, making it a must-listen for anyone looking to engage with today's most pressing topics.
Thanks for returning to MJ's Reviews, thoughts and More. So today we're going to start off with kind of a timely and interesting story. Kind of a timely and interesting story. So Metallica is in the Seattle area over the weekend doing a two-day concert and during that time some additional interesting news articles populated back through the news service again. One of them was that the US government was using Metallica, enter Sandman during the Iraqi war for psychological warfare to help break down their POWs. Along with Enter Sandman, they were using the song from Barney the Dinosaur.
Speaker 2:What the hell.
Speaker 1:And Sesame Street. What?
Speaker 2:How Okay you went from Enter Sandman, which I could see, and then Barney and sesame street. Yes, how do those go together?
Speaker 1:in a twisted. In a twisted sense of way, it actually makes sense. Uh, so now one thing about this. So metallicaica ended up hearing about what was going on and wanting to try and stay neutral and out of the politics with it, and they just asked hey, please don't use our music for that. Asked, hey, please don't use our music for that. So the Army came up with from a different band and started using it. So the whole idea was high decibels, just the thumping the bass, just, uh, you know the, the thumping the bass, the, you know just it being played at such an obnoxious level that you couldn't relax, you couldn't get to sleep. You know it was just, um, it was hard to deal with. Uh, and the same thing with uh, you know, barney, that that song that once you hear it, it gets into your head and you can never get rid of it, and it, you know some would say that it, you know, low key, drives people crazy.
Speaker 2:Uh, same thing. I love you song. Yes, yeah, don't even, don't even.
Speaker 1:No, I'm not going to, I will edit that out if you start Just fair warning and then Sesame Street's in that same, that same vein Between Barney and Sesame Street.
Speaker 2:I'd rather hear Sesame Street over Barney.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, yeah, barney, yeah, no, that's my aunt runs a daycare out of her house, and the year that I was living in the house I heard that song, I don't know Probably thousands, if not tens of thousands of times.
Speaker 2:Because it's not a long song.
Speaker 1:It's not a long song, but it's one of those ones that the kids just absolutely loved and went viral. Before viral was a thing and you know they'd be singing and dancing around Wild's plane and then you know it was just one of those things. There are a few songs that cut through it, like that song does.
Speaker 2:I don't think very many.
Speaker 1:So yeah, so it was. So. The article came from the BBC News and they were saying that it was used for sleep deprivation and to culturally offend Iraqi POWs. So yeah, that's.
Speaker 2:Metallica, though, would be awesome.
Speaker 1:See now, for me that wouldn't be a big deal no um, but I could definitely see where the music being played super loud all the time, right, you never, your ears never get in a moment of peace. Um, that, uh, it. Yeah, I can definitely see where it would be an effective tool to scramble things up and get people off kilter, especially if it's not something they're used to or enjoy listening to.
Speaker 2:Yeah but majority of people like Metallica.
Speaker 1:Well, I would say a good number. I don't know if I'd go to a majority, but I'd definitely say there's a good number that do.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:All right. So, moving on to the next article, this one came out of ABC7 down in Georgia. Came out of, uh, abc7 down in georgia. Uh, chick-fil-a is doing a new store with an elevated drive-thru, so why don't you?
Speaker 2:tell me a little bit about that. So well, looking at the picture now, I don't think it's the. I don't think the drive-thru is elevated. I think the restaurant itself is elevated and then the drive-thru is so cars literally will drive through quote-unquote drive through the restaurant instead of going around to like a side to pick their food up. It almost looks like a um, kind of like a weird terminal thing where you drive literally all the way through.
Speaker 1:There's my favorite word again Uh, one of these, one of these podcasts. I'm going to count how many times Zach says weird weird, I'm weird.
Speaker 2:Um no, um. So it's one of these uh uh terminal. It looks like a terminal drive-thru, but supposedly there's a meal from the team to the team below to deliver every six seconds. So that would be interesting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I was second turnaround. Yeah, so I read the article and, um two things uh stood out to me One it's twice the size of a normal Chick-fil-A restaurant.
Speaker 2:It's huge.
Speaker 1:And to, the conveyor belt is set to deliver uh food at a pace of every six seconds. So to me that would say that you would have your um consistently ordered items would have to be ready um all the time, all the time in mass, so that you can maintain that ratio uh pace, uh to happen, and then um. But I find, but I find it is an interesting concept because so many people have, so many businesses have bought into the idea that you have to drive around the building to do drive-thru, whereas this you actually elevate the building so that you can drive through, literally drive through the restaurant, where it would be if it was one floor. So at that point I would imagine that the, depending on its location and how it was set up, you could actually make it like a one-way entry-exit situation.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And then not have to worry about traffic getting in its own way. So you come off of one road, go through the drive-through, go out to another exit and then that way your flow of traffic is maintained, you're not crossing over, you don't have in crossing out without. Then there's the side benefit of you're down south and you've got rainstorms and hurricanes. If it's built well, well, you don't have to worry about flooding because you're you're now uh a story off the ground.
Speaker 1:Now, uh, it would be interesting to see how well, uh how, it's designed uh to make sure that um tornadoes and hurricanes wouldn't cause um additional damage to it because it is an elevated building.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But if it's built correctly and well, there should be no reason why you couldn't be able to have the building sustain those type of storms. And then, if you were smart about it, you'd take and down on the ground level, have like a storage locker, you know a heavy duty storage locker, storm bunker. So if it got to the point where you know a storm's coming and the second floor isn't the best place to be, well, you've got to place it under cover and security that you could go at ground level and it wouldn't really cost that much extra to do something like that.
Speaker 2:No, because I can only imagine how much they spent on this building oh, I'm yeah a lot yeah, I'm sure that they spent.
Speaker 1:Uh, I'm sure that they spent some money, although, realistically, with not having the first floor and you're just elevating it to the second floor, I could see where probably didn't cost quite as much as everyone thinks it's going to cost.
Speaker 2:Um, how so?
Speaker 1:well, you don't actually have the um interior of the first floor to deal with, so all you're dealing with is the supports right to hold the second floor up.
Speaker 1:So if you did that right, you could have like the four corners and then maybe two or three inline mid supports and that becomes your ability to lift it and maintain a foundation. And that's all you know. That's your footing. And then the rest of the actual building is what then becomes second floor, even though it's, you know, only the first floor. You know you have nothing on top of. You got one. You know you've got a ranch style building. You just got to lift it up so cars can drive underneath it.
Speaker 1:So when you start building on top of each other where you have occupancy and you know structural integrity that needs to be taken into place, that definitely gets more expensive because there's you got, you know, deal withbearing walls and blah, blah, blah. So yeah, I would be if I were ever in georgia after it opens. I think that, if nothing else, it would probably be an interesting, uh, tourist attraction just to see one. What does it look like, how does it work? And yeah, I think there would be a bunch of people who would just be like ooh, that's kind of interesting let's go check it out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because it also says here that quote the kitchen is also the double size of a standard Chick-fil-A. Yep, it'd have to be If they're doing six-second sandwiches. Pretty much it's going to have to be.
Speaker 1:If they're doing six-second sandwiches, pretty much it's going to have to be bigger. Well, at that point, what you would be doing is you would be building. You know, taking back to the fast food days of my career. At that point, you would be building off of a schedule. No, you would be building off of a schedule. You wouldn't be building to order unless there was a specific order.
Speaker 1:Special order, special order that you hadn't accommodated for If you were just building your regular menu, yeah, you'd be like, okay, it's lunchtime, this is what our normal sales are, so we're going to make six of this sandwich, five of that sandwich, two of that sandwich. You would actually have a called out, set order to make, and then the kitchen would. So you're You're Trying to remember what what they called, but it's basically you've got, uh, someone up front who is uh, setting, uh, setting the priority, and is doing your uh, um is directing traffic from the front. So they'll, you know, they give the initial, this is what I, this is what I need up. And then, um, then the kitchen is, you know, you've got the person who's oh, expediter, that's what it is, um, so the expediter is giving, basically giving the drum beat that the kitchen's working off of. And then you've got someone who's the kitchen, basically directing traffic to make sure that they're getting what they need, because, you know, obviously, food's not going to cook in six seconds, so you're going to have to be, you know. You know, setting up.
Speaker 1:Ok, this is going to take three minutes to cook this basket of chicken, you know, ok, I need to do that. And then then, 20 seconds later, I need to have another basket of chicken. You know, okay, I need to do that. And then then, 20 seconds later, I need to have another basket of chicken and then, five seconds later, I need to have a thing of fries, you know so? Um, yes, it definitely. I would definitely enjoy having the opportunity to be a fly on the wall, so to say, and just watch the kitchen run after it's been open for a while, once they've gotten everything down and they've gotten comfortable with it, and the pacing I would imagine that it would be, and the pacing I would imagine that it would be. Now, the other thing that just came to mind that would make this also very interesting is if you went the other route and you went automation.
Speaker 2:That's weird. I was just thinking of that, like all robots or some sort of machine you can literally.
Speaker 1:well, mcdonald's has had it for 15 years now where you can literally load the hopper up with fries and it can literally do everything from portioning out the fries, moving the basket, turning it on, shaking it, dumping it, adding salt All by pre-programmed setup, and then the only thing that you really need at that point is a person loading fries in the hopper and then, if you really want to push it, someone's scooping up the fries. Now, after I got out of the business, there was talk that they were actually developing an arm that could do the consistent scooping over the fries.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay.
Speaker 1:So that you could actually automate it even more Now in the on the burger side. Yeah, I mean back in the day, so this was like early 90s everything was clam press, you drop your burgers down, you hit, clam press, you, you, you drop your burgers down, you hit your, your clam press. Uh, when the uh button, when uh, the alarm went off, the clam press, uh, disengaged, and then you, you scooped up your. You know you could scoop up your burgers at that point. Um, so yeah, it would be. It would definitely be interesting to see which dynamic they're going after.
Speaker 1:Um, if you're not doing special orders, if everything is consisted and limited, I could definitely see where automation would would, uh, be the way to go. You know it's like okay, you know you're. You know you got like four versions of the of the sandwich that you're going to do and that's it A, b, c and D. There, you know, and that's nothing, you know nothing extra, you know no modifications in there. And then you've got fries, and then you've got drinks and you've got sauces. Realistically, that automates really easy.
Speaker 2:But what about the things that are off or not normally ordered off the menu, off or not normally ordered off the menu? So let's just say some of the chicken sandwiches at McDonald's or whatever.
Speaker 1:Well, or the special so you would have at that point you would have to decide as a restaurant. Are we going to do special orders?
Speaker 2:And if you're going to do.
Speaker 1:if you're going to do automation, I would lean towards that You're you're going to avoid special orders. You're going to do like what Dick's burgers did for the longest time.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:They put it out, they made it per their menu and they did not do special orders for the longest time. You either took it the way that they wanted or you took your business elsewhere and they were fine with that. And in that setup an automation becomes more practical and easier to deal, because then you're just programming the setup and you're good to go. A hamburger is always this, it's always ketchup mustard pickle onion, boom, you're done.
Speaker 1:To go, a hamburger is always this, it's always, you know, ketchup, mustard, pickle onion. You know, boom, you're done. Cheeseburger, okay, you add, you add a slice of cheese. That's the only difference between a hamburger and cheeseburger. All right, you know.
Speaker 1:And if you're consistent and deliberate in your making that way, then automation becomes super, super easy. Um, because you, yeah, you can get uh dispensers and you can control uh portions a whole lot easier, because it's all be programmed and um, then it's. You know, then you need minimal, minimal people for maintenance and upkeep, and loading up additional supplies would be the only reason that you would need additional people. So, and with the direction people are going, companies and governments are going pushing the minimum wage higher and higher I expect more and more businesses, especially the ones that are chain franchise, are going to be looking at any and all ways that they can do automation in any way, shape or form yeah, because, like you said, with the mcdonald's thing, um the kiosk thing, that's probably where they don't have someone at the front counter anymore, unless you're paying cash or unless there's a problem.
Speaker 2:That's been going on for a while too, probably about five, seven years now. Yeah, it's been a while.
Speaker 1:It has definitely been a while and when you think about it, it actually makes quite a bit of sense, and I think that if the app took off a little bit better, that they would um, would have loved to been able to automate the drive-through to app ordering only that'd be cool um some places are already getting into that, though I mean they're trying, but I don't think that they're.
Speaker 1:The customer base has bought into it enough right and then you've you've got the people who you know spur of the moment. They want to go. They got cash yeah they don't want to load it up on their card. You, they've got cash and just a little bit of cash, so they're going to try and figure out what they can get to put some food in their belly.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:As long as you've got that type of a customer out there in your clientele, doing an app only becomes a little challenging.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I think we're heading that way anyway. Well, yeah.
Speaker 1:I would definitely. I would say probably in the next five years. If they have their way about it, you'll end up there'll probably be three people in the restaurant at any given time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I think there's a Taco Bell somewhere where it's only drive-thru, it's not even a sit-down restaurant.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, and I've seen other restaurants that have done that.
Speaker 2:They went away and it was after COVID, and I don't know if that drove that too.
Speaker 1:Now I have seen some that were even pre-COVID, where they were smaller, almost like a stand, versus a regular restaurant where you have a walk-up window. You come up to it and everything gets served out via a bag. You don't get an option for a tray, and then they have two big garbage cans outside that have to be maintained and then a couple picnic tables for people to sit if they absolutely want to stay there on site, and the benefit to that is they were able to put it into a fairly small corner of a parking lot. You didn't have to worry about having a whole lot of parking spaces because you're not bringing any customers into the building.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And literally most times there's one to two people max at the stand. Yeah, so it's like a glorified coffee stand, but serving food yeah so, instead of instead of a barista, you've got, uh, you got a small little kitchenette and you know they've got a limited menu and you know they got a flat grill and they got a couple fryers and they got a soda machine and you know an ice machine, and that's about it, and then probably a couple of things.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And then they're good. Yeah, it was the one that I'm thinking of was a really nice. It was a nice place to get an easy, cheap burger and not have to wait. I mean, it took four or five minutes to get your burger because they didn't have a whole lot of stuff. It was almost always cooked to order. I mean, unless you came in at that short window where they always were busy, they'd have a couple burgers up to help deal with it, but for the most part it was cooked to order and their customers liked that it was cooked to order.
Speaker 1:So then you didn't have to worry about okay, how long has this burger been sitting around for? It's like okay, I'm going to, you know, put your order in, they give you your total and then they start the food process and then they come back and collect your money so you chew off a little bit of your cook time there and then you get. You know you pay, get your drink, oh yeah, and they had a shake machine there too. That was the other, and they had a shake machine there too. That was the only thing they had. They could definitely have given McDonald's a lesson or two on how to keep their shake machine running, because it never broke.
Speaker 2:What's the name of this restaurant?
Speaker 1:I can't remember. It was like a guy's name burgers. This is like Bob's Burgers or something. I can't remember exactly what it was. The last time I went looking for it it shut down and got replaced with a burrito stand.
Speaker 2:Oh, burritos are good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just yeah. And then what they did is they actually again? Then went to the drive-thru method and took up a little extra space. Drive-thru method and took up a little extra space and put in a drive-thru lane. Instead of having slowly walk-up business, they converted it to you drive up with your car and all your transactions happened in the car.
Speaker 2:So no more walk-up.
Speaker 1:So no more walk-up.
Speaker 2:Well, that's lame. They should have kept maybe one side walk-up, one side drive-through.
Speaker 1:So yeah, it was you know, it was you know you walk in the back side and then the front side was the order window.
Speaker 2:Oh.
Speaker 1:So you know, but yeah, it was an interesting concept and you know I've thought about it more than a few times that if I ever became independently wealthy and had a little bit of a land to do something similar to that, whether it be a food truck or a stand or a little mini cafe holding the wall someplace limited menu, good food, decent price and, you know, just go to town.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:All right Now, moving on to the next. So here's an opinion piece that I'm looking for from you. So elections coming up here in November, you've got the whole. Both sides are going for and accepting endorsements from different people. So, in your opinion, the endorsements during elections do they mean anything to you, or is it just more noise?
Speaker 2:I think it depends on on what those endorsements are. Other than that, I think it's just more noise. If they're endorsing something that I stand for, then I will look more into it and research them more.
Speaker 1:So what if they're endorsing a candidate? Not an idea. Case in point you've got RFK Jr and Tulsi Gabbard, both endorsing Trump.
Speaker 2:See, and that's because, honestly, just the way RFK was or I should say is, but he's no longer running I was thinking of voting for him.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:But that's just me, because it seems like he wasn't far one side or far the other, he was just kind of in the middle, his own. That's why he's independent, right. But now him endorsing trump, I don't know. There there's just certain things um that that I'm gonna have to. I'm gonna have to look at before election, especially with trump now, and just see if they they kind of meld together with some of his ideas or rfk's ideas.
Speaker 1:but I heard rfk's family was super upset with that endorsement though so well, they were upset for him running from the get-go well, so've got to take into consideration that the Kennedys have been in the past and up through this time period, have been fairly staunch Democrats. They haven't been independent. They've been solidly on the Democratic side, solidly on the Democratic side. Now, granted, when JFK was running, the definition of a Democrat was considerably different than what it is today, but they were definitely well in the Democratic side of things. So now what I find is interesting is that Tulsi Gabbard, also former Democrat, changed parties to Republican and then endorsed Trump.
Speaker 1:So who's this person? She was a former Democratic representative, is in the Military Reserves, I believe Army A major dealing with. At least earlier in her career she was an MP, I believe moved on into your psychological warfare. So your psyops, very, very well spoken, uh, definitely is more of the um, I would say more of the independent mid spectrum. Even when she was a Democrat Um, she's been very vocal on her disagreement on the way that the military has been treated and used excessively as a club, a club. She thinks that we should spend more time focusing what's happening around home instead of trying to be everybody's police force. Again, she's raised concerns with Concerns with Biden's ability to lead and to you know the fact that, as commander in chief, it is his call on whether we go to war, including nuclear war, and that there's been a lot of vocal statements on that concern. Trump actually brought her into the fold and is using her for prep debate against Kamala Harris.
Speaker 2:Is it because she was previously Democratic?
Speaker 1:I'm sure that that's got something to do with it. I'm sure that the fact that she that's got something to do with it. I'm sure that the fact that she's female has something to do with it.
Speaker 1:Um, she's, uh, well spoken, um, she gets her point across and she doesn't suffer at the same level that trump does with his brash some would say flying off the handle and not thinking before he speaks and his aggressive just popping off on Twitter and other places. Tulsi is much more measured. She has no problem getting into someone's face, but she always brings the receipts. She's got the data behind her for the statements that she's going to make she that she's going to make. She pulls very well with the middle-aged females, as well as with a large portion of the males. Part of that is her military service, part of that is she is how to say this. She is an attractive female who has a good amount of power and authority and knows how to use it effectively. So there are different demographics that latch onto that.
Speaker 1:There's definitely the group of ladies that like the idea of seeing a strong woman in charge and being able to show how things can be done with a level head, that it's not just the boys club that she was able to, you know, get promoted fairly far up the chain, get promoted fairly far up the chain and is able to you know she. You know she's been a pundit for a while. She, as she gets on there, she can hold her own in debates. She doesn't back down just because someone tries to get gruff and loud with her, you know. But she's not the type that you know gets all screechy and yells either, you know. So, yeah, an impressive person and, in my opinion, trump or his team, whoever made that decision, made a smart one. I think it was a very strategic choice, smart one. I think it was a very strategic choice. One of the things that Trump has said is he's not a politician, he's a businessman.
Speaker 2:But he's running politics, which I find funny.
Speaker 1:But as someone eyes open, I would say that anyone who spends any time in management of any length, politics come into play.
Speaker 1:You may not be solely a politician, but politics come into play. I've yet to see a business position where that's just not the case. A business position where that's just not the case, and considering the fact of how much money he has made, I think that between him and his advisors, he saw the lay of the land. He saw the fact that this is his second and last chance to make this happen, that he needs to do what he needs to do to improve his chances to get the job done. So, getting someone like Tulsi in your corner, you've got the endorsement, which I think is going to help, but, more importantly, actually having her in your corner helping you with the prep, I think is actually more a benefit than just her endorsement, because you're going to have people who, no matter who say I'm for Trump, are going to to say I'll never vote for him. Plain and simple, to the point. You know they've, you know they've literally drawn that line and it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2:You know he could be handing out gold bars and Vote for me.
Speaker 1:Vote for me and I'll give you, you know, these three gold bars, and you'll still have people I'll never vote for him. I'll give you, you know, these three gold bars, and you'll still have people I'll never vote for. I mean, you've got.
Speaker 2:I mean there are multiple Interviews where you have snide comments were made that they the comment was made that they wish that the sniper would have been more accurate when going after Trump. Well, yeah, that was like that's what got um. What's his face from Kyle gas in trouble from tenacious D that smart a remark you know, it's just.
Speaker 1:I mean I understand that people aren't going to agree.
Speaker 2:But that's a low call Just because you don't agree.
Speaker 1:I mean, it's like okay, so politics is not supposed to be life or death. And I was watching Twitter, scrolling through Twitter this morning, and one of the feeds that I saw was if you have an opponent who makes that style of comment, the question was then how do you deal with them if you win? How do you deal with them if you win? I mean and at that point I don't know how you do I mean, if it gets to the point where it's such, you know, instead of being an opponent, it's enemy.
Speaker 2:Literally.
Speaker 1:Literally, and I don't think politics should ever get to that point. I think we've lost a lot to get to this point, but with that in mind, then I think that things just go too far.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:Next, next. So you sent an article about the girl identifying as a cat.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and this is one of many. Identifying as a cat. Yeah, and this is one of many. How this came to be is I actually went camping for a few days this weekend and my aunt brought up a story of this girl up in Arlington who identified as a cat, and some of the things my aunt was telling me are super ridiculous, as in she would need a litter box put in her classroom and she would actually use that as her bathroom, and there were certain situations where she needed medical attention that she wouldn't want to go to the hospital but she'd want to go to the vet instead.
Speaker 1:And how old was this kid?
Speaker 2:She was, I want to say 11, 12. She's way old enough, okay. And then the parents are on her side saying, yeah, she identifies as a cat. I think those parents should be slapped.
Speaker 1:All right. So, first of all, who's the adult here? Who's the child? You're an adult. Part of your job is to raise the child so they can be an effective member of society and to make those calls when the child is not intelligent or clear-minded enough to make those calls. Identifying as a cat, I think, is a fairly safe assumption that they're not thinking clearly, and it's one thing if they're letting their imagination go and you know they're keeping themselves entertaining.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And they're playing as a cat. That's one thing. To live in your delusion to the point that you have to have a litter box instead of using a restroom and to go to a vet. Now don't get me wrong. I've known a few vets and they've all been bang-up doctors. But they primarily focus on animals, not humans. Primarily focus on animals, not humans. Then there's the lack of equipment that they have to treat humans, because that's not their primary duty. Their primary duty is to deal with Spot or Kitty. The fact that the adult is so far gone that the child is running the life is one issue. They're not concerned enough about the child. If there's an issue, to take them to a hospital where they can actually get care is another issue.
Speaker 1:And I would suggest that CPS. You know the state needs to pay a little more attention to what's going on and maybe intervene. I am not in any way, shape or form, a fan of the state getting involved in families I'm not but there are definitely clear cases and in my opinion, from what I've heard so far, this is definitely a classic, clear case that the parents need some assistance in raising that kid.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because the other point was that why is that girl even in school? Cats don't go to school, right?
Speaker 1:So there is that and I mean I guess if you wanted to go down that road you could have the parents homeschool the kid and you know, then there would be that.
Speaker 1:But yeah, it's just, I think this identifying this woke idol, uh, ideology and I know I didn't get that right that says that there's more than two sex, male and female and that it's encourages kids pre-puberty, puberty and slightly after puberty to make dramatic changes when the hormones in their bodies are off the charts. They're going through major life changes. Um, and that, um, there's the thought that it it's a good idea to, to let them, um, act as adults when they're clearly not adults. And you know, it's just like um, are we trying to shoot ourselves in the foot? Cause there are definitely days that I wonder if that isn't the case.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, and we were talking about that too where, um, it's almost a whole forcing all that stuff down down people's throats. You know the whole. I have nothing against the, the lgbtq. I have nothing against them. That's their life. If they want to, if they want to run it the way they want to run it or be who they want to be, that's fine. But if you start flaunting in front of me or trying to shove, you know, stuff down my throat, that's when it becomes a problem.
Speaker 1:You know, you know so where I and along the issue is when I don't mind different thoughts and ways of thinking and ways of doing things. That is at the core of what this country stands for, with the caveat that you're doing your thing doesn't interfere with me doing mine. Right, have your pronouns be something other than he, he, she, fine, more power to you.
Speaker 1:Don't expect that I'm going to Put much effort, if any, into accommodating that right um, don't get offended if you know you look like a guy but are identifying as a girl. If I, in you know, in you know, in you know, just being you know, in the normal day course of life, I see a male, I'm going to assume that he is the pronoun if I don't know your name.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Don't get offended getting my face or identify as a cat or I identify as a girl. Well, that's all not a fun and good for you yeah do that as you want one. If I don't know that, I can't assume that. Nor am I going to assume that. Nor am I going to change the way that I live my life just so that you can feel more comfortable no, and it shouldn't be that way at all for anyone yeah now, uh, along with that, um, I was watching tiktok again and, as I think of it, there are definitely days that I watch.
Speaker 1:I spend too much time on TikTok, but that's another story. There is this content creator that her video was that, and I couldn't help but chuckle and agree with after listening to it. Her concept on her video was that we should just eliminate all the warning labels off of everything, that there's no need for them all there's. You know, this contains nuts. Well, it's a brownie with walnuts. Of course it has nuts nuts. I'd be mad if it didn't have nuts. I mean, it's like a generation ago there wasn't the level of well, I don't know what, uh silliness or aggressive tagging of things. Uh, as there is now. I mean, if, um, um, you had what you had and you ate what was available and you know that was that. Now you've gotten to the point where you've got all of these different allergies and sensitivities and things that you know, during my grandparents day, no one ever heard of.
Speaker 2:Right. I think some of these allergies have been around for a while. I think it's just people too blind to even know what they can and cannot have. Obviously, if you're allergic to peanuts, you're not going to have peanut butter. But then there's some people who don't think and have it anyway or say, oh, little bit's going to do me fine. And then complain later when their throat swells up or whatever, and and and there's, there are definitely.
Speaker 1:There are definitely allergies that are serious and right, um, and then that have to be taken in consideration. And it's not that and I'm not saying that the allergies are bogus or fake it's more of the way that we have refined and processed our food. I think has a lot to do with all of these allergies and sensitivities coming up just about out of nowhere. Because I mean, during back when my grandparents were going, yeah, you had, you would have maybe one or two people in town that would have like a peanut allergy, but you know, you start getting into some of the other stuff. You know can't have wheat, can't have, you know this, can't have that, those type of things. They didn't. You didn't hear about them at that point. Now, the big difference is people were growing their own food. They weren't going to the grocery store and having that loaf of bread that can sit out for three months without spoiling All the preservatives.
Speaker 1:Because it's not hardly bread anymore, it's a bread substitute that has all of these preservatives and additives and things to last long. The idea was that you put it together in the morning and by night or the next morning it was consumed. The idea was you made the food that you needed for that day or maybe into the next day, and that's as far as you know you prepped. There wasn't this uh need to have, you know, prep, you know prep pre-cook food for five days ahead of time a lot of people are doing that you know.
Speaker 1:So it was. You know you, literally, you would have a parent or an older sibling at home who would cook, and you would cook three meals a day. You would cook what you needed for breakfast and, more times than not, what was made for breakfast would be consumed. There wouldn't be leftovers because you would make what was necessary to feed the people that you were looking to feed and that was that, and you know that it usually only took a little while to, you know, figure out what the the proper amount of food was. You know, and then, and if anything, it was, usually there was usually a slight lack of food versus an abundance of food, so it wasn't a case where there really was. You had to worry about leftovers.
Speaker 2:It was being considerate and deliberate on portion to make sure everyone got something yeah, because I've noticed there's a lot more well even when compared to when I was younger a lot more wasted food now yeah people will say, oh yeah, I want this, this, this, and they only eat like a quarter or half of it and then throw the rest away or take it home or whatever well, another thing that I I noticed was I was reading this article again, tick tock um, where this uh couple was, uh from Europe traveling to the U?
Speaker 1:S and found that the? Um, the quality of the food in the US caused multiple issues while they were in the US Weight gain, inflammation, you know, stomach issues and then they went home ate the same thing that they were eating on vacation, but in italy, and they didn't have the same issues probably because everything's homegrown and and not the fake organic.
Speaker 1:But well so a lot of it is the manufactured foods. Um, all of the preservatives that uh are in the food. I mean, even even getting to pasta. I mean, and I love pasta, but you get pasta here in the US, it's not freshly made.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:I mean, you've got.
Speaker 2:Unless you make it yourself.
Speaker 1:Right. But I mean, if you go to the store and you buy pasta, it's not freshly made, it's usually fortified with additional chemicals, and it's because they strip away all of the good stuff in the beginning and then they make it in bulk so that it can sit on the shelf for months and months and months on end, whereas you, you know, you go to, you know, a household in small town Italy. If they're having pasta for supper, whoever's cooking is making that pasta fresh.
Speaker 2:Yep.
Speaker 1:And you know it's like flour and water. I mean it's like yeah.
Speaker 1:You know you've got. You know your flour is a better quality flour. It's not all stripped of all of its nutrients. It's. You know. It's actually, you know, much better for you. You know so to the point where there was even a study saying that there's an average of somewhere between 20 to 30% difference on weight between what someone would eat in the US and how it would actually cause them to be overweight versus eating the same thing in Europe, due to the nutritional value of what's in Europe.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Now, the other thing to keep in mind is that there are a lot of additives and chemicals that are legal in the US that you can't consume anywhere else.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And that you know. I'm sure that's not good for you either. So it's like, yeah it just. It's just one of those things that you know that makes me scratch my head and go. Hmm.
Speaker 2:So there is a theory, and this was something that also during the camping trip, my aunt brought up. Okay, when you go into a supermarket, anything that's on the outer perimeter of the store is usually better for you than anything in the middle. So like the aisleways, yes, so like the.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the produce dairy um meat um bakery and that's all it's, and that is actually done by design right.
Speaker 2:So and she was saying anything else, like in the middle aisleways are are really bad, or just bad foods in general for you. And going back to the whole um, italy or anywhere else in the world, a lot of places don't have supermarkets and you literally have to go to market, market, market, market to get your groceries. They don't have a supermarket you. So if you want bread, you go to an actual bakery. If you want, uh, fruit or vegetables, you actually have a stand to go to now and most of, and most of the time that's an accurate statement.
Speaker 1:But I have found in the two trips that I have made over the course of my time in Europe that if you're outside of the normal tourist areas that's fairly accurate. When you get into more of the tourist areas, especially in the last decade or so, they have more of your corporate grocery stores so that you can get more of your stuff all underneath one roof when you're in a city. So now the produce is brought in from the countryside so it's still homegrown good for you.
Speaker 1:It's not the roadside stand that you see out in the countryside though. So, because you have such a large populace, and a large quantity of that is tourists, you have more of your corporate-sized stores in your larger populace centers, in your larger populist centers. Now, if you can get out into the countryside, you get out in areas where the tourists don't go very often, where it's just the locals. Yes, then you definitely have more of the farmer market style places where I want to get fruits and vegetables, and you know you deal with the local grower and you pick what you want and you get what you need for that day or so, and you know you're, you're literally buying. You know, maybe, maybe for the. You know you might buy two or three days at a time. You know like if, oh, they're not open over the weekend type scenario, but other than that, everything's bought fresh, it's bought as needed.
Speaker 1:You don't have the preservatives like we do here. Cooking and eating is much more of an event. You invite people over for a meal and it isn't just stuffing food, you know. You invite people over that you want to spend time with, and cooking is uh. Cooking and eating becomes uh a social gathering?
Speaker 1:yeah, it's a social event and in its it's an event in its own right. It's not, you know, we're going to eat and then go to the movies, type of scenarios. Okay, we're gonna have people over the house for four hours and while we, you know, cook and prepare supper, and you know so I think that's just our disposable mindset.
Speaker 2:We we tend to throw, you know, or you know, yeah, go eat, see movie, and it's just kind of out of our head. You know, day in and day out.
Speaker 1:I think part of it is just the change in lifestyle from when, again, when my grandparents' generation were active. Uh, we're active, but um, yeah it, you know, unfortunately, unfortunately, I think uh, part of it is just, you know, we, we get uh, more and more wrapped up in our electronics and the busy pace of life and we forget the benefit of, you know, taking a deep breath and slowing things down again.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So All right. So then there was the Wells Fargo yeah so their corporate office. This employee scanned in and I guess where she was at was fairly isolated and not a lot of people around. They found her body four days later, dead that'd be a sucky place to die. I mean, think about working till you die, literally. Wow, I mean it's just like that is not the way that I want to go. I do not want to die at work.
Speaker 2:I don't. Last thing I want to do is see the Windows boot up screen, and then where am I? What's going on?
Speaker 1:yeah, not the way that I envisioned going up, um, and you gotta, you gotta, feel sorry for co-workers and staff who who work there on a day-to-day basis, knowing that, uh, after everything's said and it's oh yeah, that's where so-and-so passed away. I wouldn't want that desk.
Speaker 2:No, no, and that's just kind of a weird vibe that I would get. It's like going to anybody's house and you're staying the night or whatever in a bedroom and someone passed away in that room. I wouldn't want to be sleeping in there.
Speaker 1:There's definitely something to say about that. So, and then the last story that I want to cover is out of Colorado, where you've got the. The mayor is blaming the government after gangs take over multiple apartment blocks. So you've got these gangs out of Venezuela that have made their way into the US and have taken physical possession of apartments.
Speaker 2:That's a scary thought.
Speaker 1:And then the local police are unable slash, unwilling to do what needs to be done to get them out. And now you know they literally control large parts of the area. And it's gotten to the point now where you know the finger-pointing aspect has started. And now you've got the mayor of the city pointing to the federal government, saying it's your fault and yeah thoughts I don't know.
Speaker 2:It's just scary to think about because that almost seems like a movie, like a movie plot um yeah, I could either that or I could write a book or something.
Speaker 1:Write a trilogy on that one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so these apartment complexes, they're run by the gangs, so that means they probably have a kingpin of some sort that oversees everything.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, I would assume that there's a lot of people, that there's at least a couple people in charge up here in the States as well, as I know infrastructure back home, right, um, so, in my opinion, part of the problem here is, um, it's one thing. If they start to try and influence an area. If you don't nip it in the bud quickly, that's when it develops into this type of a situation, develops into this type of a situation. This is where, in my opinion, aggressive policing is a requirement when you're in an area that is heavy in immigrants have set up shop, that you need to make sure that the rules and laws are being abided by and that you don't have people just turning the other eye and ignoring what's going on.
Speaker 2:Right. So now are normal tenants living in these apartments, or is it strictly?
Speaker 1:So it sounds like and it wasn't super clear. So it sounds like and it wasn't super clear, but it sounds like that there are regular tenants mixed in with gang members. That would be too scary. So now you start getting into that point where, if that is truly the situation, now as law enforcement it becomes harder, because now you have to deal with innocent people.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Whereas if it was just all criminals, then you know you have one uh, one concern Uh and you go from there. When you start mixing uh innocent people, uh bystanders, into it, the logistics of getting things done become dramatically larger, because now not only do you have to get rid of the bad guys, but you also have to protect the good guys at the same point.
Speaker 2:Right, and I wonder how the you know the response would be, as in time it would take for a normal emergency compared to, let's just say, the game went a wire and started.
Speaker 1:Well, and and as I've seen in other examples, um, it's like back when, um, the protesters took over that neighborhood in Seattle.
Speaker 1:Um, when you start getting in and neighborhood taken over in that way, your emergency services usually trend to no response given enough time, because sooner or later, the first responders are going to realize that it is not safe for them to go there and or the area is going to be blocked off so that they can't make it, even if they are willing to risk it.
Speaker 1:So it gets to the point where there is no first responders available because the area is locked down and, unfortunately, when it gets to that point, in my opinion, I think it almost is a requirement that you need to get the National Guard involved and you need to go in and you need to declare martial law, you need to go in and you just need to clean up the mess, you know, get rid of all the bad elements, clean everything out, get it to the point where it is just the law-abiding citizens that are left and go in that direction. But unfortunately, what tends to happen is you get issues start happening and, instead of being dealt with aggressively enough, they get ignored or overlooked because oh, that's just this or oh, that's just that. It'll resolve itself. And then it grows and the issues grow and become a larger issue, whereas if they were dealt with appropriately early on, they may not become such a large issue.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and Venezuela is one of those countries where I wouldn't want to mess with any of their gangs at all, just like Columbia or Well, and so you've got.
Speaker 1:Part of it is the fact that you've got uh, um an aggressively trained military. You've got a lot of extra money, uh related uh, around the drug culture that's down there. You've got, um, a lack of resources that the individual gets uh to use, so, um, the aggressive nature becomes more obvious. And you've got uh people who are living off of next to nothing, so they become more desperate, and then they're given an opportunity to get some of the things that they need. If they do what the cartels want, well, it's okay. Now you've got regular people who may not be in the gang but are looking to survive, and the only way they can survive is doing what the cartels want well you're essentially joining the gang at that point it literally becomes a case where you know, for a lot of people it's either do as I'm told or I'm not going to survive.
Speaker 1:And the aggressive way that they make their points makes it really easy for people to say well, it's the lesser of two evils, I'm going to do what I need to survive. You know I may not. You know I may not go out and shoot up the movie theater, but you know they need a, they need a place to live.
Speaker 1:You know I've got a you know, I've got a, you know, a small house in the backyard, Now I'll let them use it type scenario. So, yeah, it's part of it is the open borders. Part of it is not regulating people who overstay. Yeah, the not, you know, not enforcing the laws that are already in place in this country. And you know, they come from a place where life sucks and they don't have a whole lot, and they come here and then they realize how much more they can have and how few rules there are actually in place to stop them. Yeah, unfortunately for some people. It makes sense, yep, and that's a pity.
Speaker 2:Yeah, unfortunately for some people it makes sense, yep, and that's a pity.
Speaker 1:Yep, as definitely a pity. Let's see. So just a few things on wrapping up here. I want to thank everyone who listened during the week. We went from 535 downloads to almost 600 downloads over the course of the week, so that is really awesome. I'm really thankful for everyone out there who takes the time to listen to the podcast, listen to us rant. If you've got a comment, if you've got a suggestion, if there's a topic that you want to hear us talk about, if there's a topic that you want to hear us talk about. If you're interested in any of that giving us critique you can either reach out via the fan page. That is the texting link that is in our bio. It allows you to send in an anonymous text to us. If you want us to respond, you'll need to give some kind of contact information, or you can send us an email at M-J-H-A-G-U-Ecom. That's contact at M-J-H-A-G-U-Ecom, and, with that tongue tied, this is MJ.
Speaker 2:And I'm Zach.
Speaker 1:Have a good weekend. We'll see you next time.
