In this episode, your hosts dive deep into a hilariously bizarre conversation that starts with the futuristic ideals of Demolition Man and the surprisingly grim reality of Taco Bell’s late-night offerings. They then pivot to a discussion about the “best and brightest,” exploring the nuances and potential abuses of the H-1B visa system. The conversation touches on the nature of corporate greed, the impact of partisanship on democracy, and the historical parallels of populist movements, all seasoned with a healthy dose of pop culture references and existential pondering. This episode is a wild ride through fast food, immigration policy, and political philosophy.
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Transcript
WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.100 –> 00:00:02.300 E: I’m just… don’t even get me started. 2 00:00:03.010 –> 00:00:12.860 E: Don’t even get me started on, Jewish people. Anyway, we can just stop that conversation and start a new one, because I think I’m on a roll. 3 00:00:13.580 –> 00:00:14.949 E: How are you doing? 4 00:00:14.950 –> 00:00:16.540 Kay: I’m do- I’m doing good. 5 00:00:16.710 –> 00:00:17.940 Kay: You’re Eddie, right? 6 00:00:18.660 –> 00:00:23.240 E: Where are you? I see that your background looks different, I see the Eiffel Tower. 7 00:00:23.240 –> 00:00:28.019 Kay: Yeah, I’m not in France, though. I’m in Tucson, so you’re, you know, close, though. 8 00:00:28.020 –> 00:00:30.750 E: Oh, I thought that was a window, and I thought that. 9 00:00:30.750 –> 00:00:32.150 Kay: No, that’s not the real… 10 00:00:32.159 –> 00:00:32.609 E: Doctor. 11 00:00:32.610 –> 00:00:35.920 Kay: No, that’s not the real Eiffel. In fact, that Eiffel… 12 00:00:35.920 –> 00:00:36.510 E: You’re traveling. 13 00:00:36.510 –> 00:00:37.149 Kay: Until that was… 14 00:00:37.150 –> 00:00:38.010 E: Lucan. 15 00:00:38.010 –> 00:00:38.590 Kay: I’ve tried. 16 00:00:38.590 –> 00:00:40.010 E: What is it that brought you to the… 17 00:00:41.450 –> 00:00:43.700 Kay: Just a little… Good interview. 18 00:00:43.700 –> 00:00:44.630 E: be, I think. 19 00:00:44.630 –> 00:00:51.210 Kay: You know, you have some… you have a good eye. That’s actually glitter that they put on the Eiffel Tower picture to make it really sparkle. 20 00:00:51.430 –> 00:00:53.470 Kay: And then I have another sign on the other side. 21 00:00:53.470 –> 00:00:57.790 E: Oh, yeah, it’s the city… City of Life, you know. 22 00:00:57.790 –> 00:01:07.860 Kay: I need you, I want you, your warmth, your smell, your taste, coffee, I love you. And you know that… you know that this person has… 23 00:01:08.070 –> 00:01:13.720 Kay: Terrible tasting coffee, because they’ll put up a sign like that, and they leave me with like. 24 00:01:14.020 –> 00:01:17.669 Kay: Walmart brand coffee, so that’s how much they really believe that. 25 00:01:17.990 –> 00:01:20.200 Kay: That sign It means nothing. 26 00:01:20.200 –> 00:01:23.610 E: That, that sign actually sounds like a letter I once wrote to the president. 27 00:01:24.590 –> 00:01:25.730 Kay: Yeah. 28 00:01:25.980 –> 00:01:28.819 Kay: I, it’s all, it’s all smokes and mirrors. 29 00:01:28.820 –> 00:01:29.349 E: I’m not allowed. 30 00:01:29.350 –> 00:01:29.770 Kay: I didn’t be… 31 00:01:29.770 –> 00:01:31.539 E: I’m not allowed in federal buildings anymore. 32 00:01:32.040 –> 00:01:33.320 Kay: I’m sure. 33 00:01:33.670 –> 00:01:34.610 Kay: Yes, well… 34 00:01:34.610 –> 00:01:37.230 E: But by the way, that doesn’t mean… that doesn’t mean… 35 00:01:37.350 –> 00:01:41.239 E: that I, don’t have to pay my taxes. They were very clear about that. 36 00:01:41.240 –> 00:01:42.659 Kay: Yeah, I’m sure, they were, like. 37 00:01:42.660 –> 00:01:46.109 E: I wasted all the money on that weekly snack time alone, too. That’s the worst part of it. 38 00:01:46.350 –> 00:01:47.999 Kay: Yeah, I’m… I’m sorry… 39 00:01:48.000 –> 00:01:49.630 E: was before he was a packed guy? 40 00:01:50.730 –> 00:01:53.200 Kay: Oh, a tech scam? What? What? 41 00:01:53.200 –> 00:01:55.449 E: Before Wesley Snipes was a tax guy. 42 00:01:55.450 –> 00:01:58.189 Kay: Oh, wasn’t he an actor? 43 00:01:58.190 –> 00:02:04.040 E: Oh, yeah, yeah. Oh, that’s right, he was in those, kickboxing vampire movies. 44 00:02:05.640 –> 00:02:09.289 Kay: There was a funny SNL about Wesley Snipes telling everyone 45 00:02:10.050 –> 00:02:13.240 Kay: how not to have to pay their taxes, that was a… that was a good one. Yeah. 46 00:02:13.630 –> 00:02:20.820 E: Well, okay, I’m sorry, hold on, you know what? I know we don’t have a lot of time today, but I feel like I’m gonna have to come through… I’m gonna have to rush. 47 00:02:21.190 –> 00:02:29.300 E: to Wesley Snipes’ defense right now. Okay. First of all, it’s not just not paying the taxes, that’s a pretty… 48 00:02:29.410 –> 00:02:31.210 E: superficial… 49 00:02:31.250 –> 00:02:32.740 Kay: Right. First look. 50 00:02:32.740 –> 00:02:42.619 E: That’s a… you know, and that’s how the Department of Justice and the IRS kind of saw it, which is really not… it doesn’t do it justice. There’s, like, a whole system in place. 51 00:02:42.850 –> 00:02:47.409 E: It has to do… see, nowhere in the Constitution. 52 00:02:47.410 –> 00:02:51.580 Kay: Is, is taxi’s mentioned, if you don’t know that. 53 00:02:51.850 –> 00:02:57.230 E: Now, it is… technically mentioned in that it says that Congress can levy them. 54 00:02:58.030 –> 00:02:58.520 Kay: Was that. 55 00:02:58.520 –> 00:03:04.089 E: well, it, you know, Article 1, man, Congress, right? Like… 56 00:03:04.500 –> 00:03:05.130 Kay: Got it. 57 00:03:05.840 –> 00:03:08.520 E: They have power. They have the power. 58 00:03:08.520 –> 00:03:09.000 Kay: Oh, there you go. 59 00:03:09.570 –> 00:03:14.859 E: It doesn’t say, oh, hey, Wesley Snipes pay your income tax. It doesn’t say that. 60 00:03:14.860 –> 00:03:15.550 Kay: That’s true. 61 00:03:15.550 –> 00:03:17.839 E: And I’ve read it. He has read it. 62 00:03:17.980 –> 00:03:26.350 E: He’s gonna win this case. Hold on. Right, right. I’m seeing… I’m seeing that he’s already lost the case. Nevermind. Nevermind. Let’s skip this one for now. 63 00:03:27.320 –> 00:03:35.650 Kay: no one even knows who Wesley Snipes is anymore, who’s probably listening to us. I mean, although we are… maybe our demographic would know, because… 64 00:03:35.800 –> 00:03:36.900 Kay: My demographic… 65 00:03:36.900 –> 00:03:42.169 E: It is my mother and my And you are correct. 66 00:03:42.170 –> 00:03:43.380 Kay: By the way. 67 00:03:43.380 –> 00:03:45.370 E: Neither… neither the nor West is my fault. 68 00:03:45.370 –> 00:03:48.060 Kay: If you want to have a good, kind of, good time. 69 00:03:48.540 –> 00:03:53.419 Kay: Rewatch, what was that one with Wesley Snipes and Stallone? 70 00:03:53.420 –> 00:03:53.900 E: Demolition Manager. 71 00:03:53.900 –> 00:03:54.700 Kay: Demolition. 72 00:03:54.700 –> 00:04:00.670 E: Demolition Man, it is… my friends and I, we quote from this movie. 73 00:04:00.990 –> 00:04:03.010 E: All the time. I don’t know what that says about me. 74 00:04:03.360 –> 00:04:04.880 E: But I loved Demolition Man. 75 00:04:04.880 –> 00:04:05.510 Kay: I love it, too. 76 00:04:05.510 –> 00:04:07.700 E: feature all restaurants are Taco Bell. 77 00:04:08.090 –> 00:04:08.820 E: Excellent. 78 00:04:10.180 –> 00:04:13.009 Kay: as they should be. Yeah, it’s a great movie. 79 00:04:13.300 –> 00:04:15.330 E: Have you ever been to a Taco Bell cantina? 80 00:04:16.329 –> 00:04:21.209 Kay: I have. I was not impressed. I was not impressed at all. 81 00:04:21.419 –> 00:04:23.739 E: Wait, I’m sorry, but did you have any alcohol? 82 00:04:24.310 –> 00:04:29.089 Kay: No, I did not. That’s true, I did not have it. I know, did I? I might have had a corona. 83 00:04:29.090 –> 00:04:31.740 E: Tina is a Taco Bell that has alcohol, you didn’t know that? 84 00:04:31.740 –> 00:04:47.839 Kay: Hmm… I may have had one… you know what, I… no, I did not. I remember thinking, maybe I should come here one day to get an alcoholic beverage, but I thought, why not? Why come here when I go… when I can go to a much better establishment? If it was, like, in the movie… Hold on a second, though. I think… 85 00:04:47.840 –> 00:04:52.179 E: I think you’re… I think you’re overlooking its value. What time of day was it? 86 00:04:53.350 –> 00:04:54.000 E: Mornings? 87 00:04:54.000 –> 00:04:55.410 Kay: Or in the afternoon. 88 00:04:56.180 –> 00:04:57.930 E: Oh, okay. Come on, man. 89 00:04:58.040 –> 00:04:58.630 E: That’s… 90 00:04:58.630 –> 00:04:59.340 Kay: Are you supposed to go later? 91 00:05:00.030 –> 00:05:03.600 E: Yeah, like, you’re supposed to go, like, at 2 or 3 AM… 92 00:05:03.790 –> 00:05:05.860 Kay: Okay. 93 00:05:05.860 –> 00:05:12.069 E: driving around, you pass at Denny’s, and you’re like, ugh, I don’t want to, like, order the food and sit down. 94 00:05:12.070 –> 00:05:12.780 Kay: Mmm. 95 00:05:12.780 –> 00:05:15.390 E: And then you see a Taco Bell sign lit up. 96 00:05:15.390 –> 00:05:17.819 Kay: And then, Taco Bell’s time to shine. 97 00:05:18.110 –> 00:05:20.780 E: And you… you go in there. 98 00:05:20.880 –> 00:05:32.870 E: And, it’s 1AM, and it’s a Taco Bell, and the place is a fucking disaster. And, it doesn’t matter to you, though. There’s, like, pieces of, like, hard tortilla shells on the ground, and loose lettuce. 99 00:05:33.470 –> 00:05:34.789 Kay: All of the little… 100 00:05:34.800 –> 00:05:37.140 E: Pockets of hot tots are mixed up. 101 00:05:37.330 –> 00:05:38.989 E: And you go and you order your food. 102 00:05:39.150 –> 00:05:39.589 Kay: I like it. 103 00:05:39.590 –> 00:05:47.029 E: And you get, like, 10 tacos, and you sit down when the tacos come out, and you wait the 5 minutes it takes to make 10 tacos, which, you know, don’t think about that too hard. 104 00:05:47.030 –> 00:05:47.630 Kay: No. 105 00:05:47.630 –> 00:06:00.029 E: And then you get them, and you sit down, and they’re all just, like, a little warm, and they’re all wrapped in paper, and you open it, and the first thing that happens is it’s just mostly letter, but then you blush that off, and then you got this… 106 00:06:00.260 –> 00:06:01.680 Kay: Yeah. Delicious. 107 00:06:01.680 –> 00:06:06.539 E: Hard shell, taco… Just like Grandma used to make. 108 00:06:06.540 –> 00:06:07.020 Kay: Amazing. 109 00:06:07.020 –> 00:06:07.680 E: And you… 110 00:06:07.680 –> 00:06:10.910 Kay: Grandma. The one that was forced to work at Taco Bell. 111 00:06:11.360 –> 00:06:16.590 E: Yeah, that’s 100% correct. And the hard-shell tacos are just made out of, like. 112 00:06:16.810 –> 00:06:18.589 E: I don’t… I think it’s just, like, the… 113 00:06:18.590 –> 00:06:19.030 Kay: the square. 114 00:06:19.030 –> 00:06:29.320 E: what, like, Amazon boxes are made out of, and you just go through it like a wood chipper, man. And you pour on their hot sauce, which is just, like, vinegar with, like, red pepper powder. 115 00:06:30.210 –> 00:06:30.780 Kay: And it’s… 116 00:06:30.780 –> 00:06:33.060 E: Amazing, and it’s delicious, man! 117 00:06:34.090 –> 00:06:35.629 E: like, at 1AM to 8. 118 00:06:35.630 –> 00:06:35.980 Kay: Yeah. 119 00:06:35.980 –> 00:06:36.819 E: you’re drunk. 120 00:06:36.970 –> 00:06:40.529 E: 10 Taco Bell tacos and a Chalupa? I don’t even know what that is. 121 00:06:40.530 –> 00:06:42.930 Kay: Why don’t you just go to Taco Bell? 122 00:06:43.240 –> 00:06:48.709 Kay: and get the same… I mean, why do you need the alcohol? Because you’re already drunk anyway. You could just go to a Taco Bell and… 123 00:06:49.030 –> 00:06:49.670 E: Yeah, I never… 124 00:06:49.670 –> 00:06:50.139 Kay: There’s no benefit. 125 00:06:50.140 –> 00:06:50.900 E: good dad. 126 00:06:51.120 –> 00:07:00.289 E: Well, see, now, this is where I… I feel a little bad now, because I feel like I’m gonna mansplain to you a business concept, but you’re a business person, you’re an entrepreneur. 127 00:07:00.290 –> 00:07:01.010 Kay: matter. 128 00:07:01.010 –> 00:07:04.389 E: Well, there’s a… there’s a little something called vertical integration, my friend. 129 00:07:04.600 –> 00:07:14.630 E: Vertical integration is when your company sits, on top of one part of a market chain. So, for example. 130 00:07:14.810 –> 00:07:22.919 E: If you are a company that makes televisions, why aren’t you also installing those televisions? 131 00:07:23.020 –> 00:07:33.600 E: Why shouldn’t you also be making the content that’s shown on those televisions? Why aren’t you also selling the houses those televisions go into? Vertical integration. 132 00:07:33.630 –> 00:07:48.930 E: You’re gonna eat up the whole thing. You’re just not one part of it, you’re the whole thing. So, Taco Bell, our customers are showing up drunk to eat our bullshit food. Why don’t they get drunk here first? Why are they buying the alcohol somewhere else? 133 00:07:49.030 –> 00:07:54.870 E: To get inebriated enough, And rejected enough to come here and eat whatever we’re making. 134 00:07:55.380 –> 00:08:00.229 Kay: Who cares about class? I mean, it sounds like something that… Vertical integration, my friend. 135 00:08:00.310 –> 00:08:07.789 E: They own the Taco Bell, they own the drunk part, now they own the getting drunk part. 136 00:08:08.130 –> 00:08:10.110 E: All they need is a taxi service. 137 00:08:10.270 –> 00:08:10.780 E: Oh! 138 00:08:10.780 –> 00:08:11.170 Kay: Yeah. 139 00:08:11.170 –> 00:08:16.650 E: Is it hard for you to get home after being blasted by alcohol and whatever food we’re making? 140 00:08:16.840 –> 00:08:24.510 E: your stomach is dealing with it, your brain is dealing with the alcohol. How are you gonna get home? We’ll drive you home. Boom. 141 00:08:24.980 –> 00:08:25.530 Kay: I’m sure. 142 00:08:25.530 –> 00:08:25.980 E: Anyway. 143 00:08:25.980 –> 00:08:29.199 Kay: And it’s at a Taco Bell, branded car. 144 00:08:29.370 –> 00:08:30.570 Kay: Demolition Management. 145 00:08:30.570 –> 00:08:32.330 E: It’s an excellent movie. I agree with you. 146 00:08:32.330 –> 00:08:33.730 Kay: It sounded like… 147 00:08:33.990 –> 00:08:40.889 Kay: It sounded like Demolition Man got the branding of that way better and way more right than 148 00:08:41.090 –> 00:08:50.090 Kay: Taco Bell Cantina. It was a pitiful… like, Taco Bell screwed it up, but the… but Demolition Brand… Demolition Man got it right, is what I think. 149 00:08:50.940 –> 00:08:53.379 E: Yeah, yeah, like, the future… 150 00:08:53.380 –> 00:08:57.479 Kay: Because they took it to another level, whereas the Cantina… 151 00:08:57.760 –> 00:09:00.269 Kay: Barely etched… etched out anything different. 152 00:09:01.250 –> 00:09:03.319 E: Taco Bell and Demolition Man did not like. 153 00:09:03.320 –> 00:09:04.650 Kay: Now, you… 154 00:09:04.770 –> 00:09:14.739 Kay: you are in a divine-looking place that looks like, kind of, Demolition Man. You know, Demolition Man was supposed to be the future. You look like you’re living in that future right now. 155 00:09:14.740 –> 00:09:18.840 E: That’s what Jakarta, that’s what Jakarta is, bro. Like, you know, biometric… 156 00:09:19.060 –> 00:09:19.420 Kay: Yeah. 157 00:09:19.420 –> 00:09:21.900 E: Apps. There’s an app for that. 158 00:09:22.050 –> 00:09:26.310 E: The complete lack of violence, except for when a protester gets murdered. 159 00:09:27.150 –> 00:09:28.840 Kay: Well, there may be an underground civilization. 160 00:09:28.840 –> 00:09:29.380 E: And they… 161 00:09:29.380 –> 00:09:30.489 Kay: You just haven’t found them. 162 00:09:30.490 –> 00:09:34.889 E: And protesters, in turn, murder other people who had nothing to do with it? 163 00:09:34.890 –> 00:09:38.330 Kay: Right And they’re eating rats underneath the ground. Maybe that’s what… 164 00:09:38.330 –> 00:09:38.810 E: Bye! 165 00:09:38.810 –> 00:09:39.420 Kay: Delete. 166 00:09:40.240 –> 00:09:43.759 E: And besides that, it’s perfectly… it’s a very safe place. It’s amazing. 167 00:09:43.910 –> 00:09:54.060 E: Yeah, I am, in a mall, it’s a cathedral to capitalism. I am a strict adherent to capitalism, so I… this is my holy place, man. 168 00:09:54.900 –> 00:09:59.900 Kay: I have no problem with capitalism being a cathedral, I think that’s a great idea. 169 00:10:00.370 –> 00:10:01.890 Kay: I’m… I’m down. 170 00:10:01.890 –> 00:10:04.610 E: No, it’s like, it’s a huge structure. 171 00:10:05.510 –> 00:10:12.959 E: beautiful, it’s filled with things I want to buy. I have money from the wage slave stuff I do. 172 00:10:12.960 –> 00:10:17.509 Kay: Nice. That’s where you should spend it. Yeah, like, what are you gonna buy today? What have you bought today? 173 00:10:17.510 –> 00:10:18.970 E: shopping malls, and you know what? 174 00:10:20.340 –> 00:10:21.419 Kay: You can buy a Louis Vuitton? 175 00:10:21.420 –> 00:10:23.350 E: Buying a good time, my friend. 176 00:10:24.040 –> 00:10:28.860 E: I have this really excellent, burnt Americano that the staff 177 00:10:29.010 –> 00:10:31.819 E: Of the children’s play area who made it for me. 178 00:10:33.110 –> 00:10:37.470 E: Obviously, having absolutely no experience, skill, or interest in making. 179 00:10:37.930 –> 00:10:39.580 Kay: It looks cool, though, looks like a good brand. 180 00:10:42.330 –> 00:10:45.790 E: But to quote a poem I recently heard. 181 00:10:45.900 –> 00:10:49.750 E: I love the smell, taste so much, and the warmth, but I will drink anything they make. 182 00:10:50.250 –> 00:10:52.100 Kay: I would just… okay, so on this topic. 183 00:10:52.100 –> 00:10:52.980 E: But yeah, that’s… 184 00:10:52.980 –> 00:10:56.879 Kay: I told you, I’m thinking of moving to… To Thailand. 185 00:10:57.880 –> 00:11:01.520 Kay: And I did a search the other day for the price. 186 00:11:01.790 –> 00:11:06.220 Kay: Alright, so this is kind of interesting… I mean, it’s not super interesting, but I think maybe our listeners might find it interesting. 187 00:11:06.530 –> 00:11:11.069 Kay: I did a cost comparison of the price of lifestyle 188 00:11:11.190 –> 00:11:17.660 Kay: between where I’m gonna be in Thailand, and let’s just… I think it was even Bangkok. It’s not that I’m going to Bangkok, but let’s just say Bangkok. 189 00:11:17.940 –> 00:11:24.119 Kay: Compared to Phoenix, where I… where I have spent time. I don’t actually live in Phoenix, but I’ve spent time there. 190 00:11:24.670 –> 00:11:33.419 Kay: And I… I was looking at the prices in Bangkok, There was, like, milk, cheese, groceries. 191 00:11:33.980 –> 00:11:37.759 Kay: There was, transportation, rent, all those things. 192 00:11:38.100 –> 00:11:50.350 Kay: And as I’m looking at a few of these things, I’m thinking, those… those aren’t good prices. I’m looking at Bangkok, and it says… I think it was $28 for a nice meal out for two people, and I thought, that’s kind of pricey, $28. 193 00:11:50.590 –> 00:11:52.870 Kay: And then I compared that to Phoenix. 194 00:11:53.290 –> 00:11:55.340 Kay: And it was $78. 195 00:11:56.050 –> 00:12:04.230 Kay: And I was like, oh my gosh, I haven’t been out for a long time, so I didn’t know how much it’s really gone up, but yeah, $78 for a nice meal in Phoenix. Who knew? 196 00:12:04.350 –> 00:12:09.620 Kay: And I realized, at the end of it all, as I looked at everything, the only thing that was more expensive 197 00:12:09.940 –> 00:12:15.779 Kay: was milk and cheese. Everything else was dirt cheap, like a $2 for an Americano. 198 00:12:16.200 –> 00:12:19.420 Kay: Whereas, who knew that it’s, like, $6 average in Phoenix? 199 00:12:19.560 –> 00:12:27.069 Kay: And I thought, wow. So, in general, 40% savings by just living, just making that move, you’re gonna save… 200 00:12:27.430 –> 00:12:30.749 Kay: 40% on most things, except for milk and cheese, which. 201 00:12:30.750 –> 00:12:31.490 E: That’s right. 202 00:12:31.650 –> 00:12:35.249 Kay: Which means that because of my milk and cheese cravings, I actually might… 203 00:12:35.450 –> 00:12:37.460 Kay: End out about the same, but… 204 00:12:37.610 –> 00:12:45.369 Kay: But still, pretty impressive savings there, and I realized, God, I’m paying a lot of money just to live this capitalistic 205 00:12:46.620 –> 00:12:48.610 Kay: utopia here in the U.S. 206 00:12:50.480 –> 00:12:54.669 E: Yeah, the greatest, richest country on Earth. It’s really difficult to imagine… 207 00:12:55.300 –> 00:12:59.869 E: being far from her, yeah, I said her, cancel me. 208 00:13:02.430 –> 00:13:02.910 Kay: Sure, by the way. 209 00:13:02.910 –> 00:13:07.620 E: You know, I think it was… AI? Wasn’t it… was it you and I who… What? 210 00:13:09.170 –> 00:13:12.699 Kay: Who’s her? Oh, you mean the capitalistic utopia? 211 00:13:12.920 –> 00:13:14.520 E: America? 212 00:13:16.380 –> 00:13:17.160 Kay: Hmm. 213 00:13:17.600 –> 00:13:19.180 E: Lady Liberty? Bye! 214 00:13:19.180 –> 00:13:20.180 Kay: I’m sorry. 215 00:13:20.180 –> 00:13:25.330 E: Didn’t catch that one. That song. 216 00:13:25.980 –> 00:13:27.380 E: The one about America. 217 00:13:27.380 –> 00:13:28.160 Kay: Good point. 218 00:13:28.370 –> 00:13:31.309 Kay: I do think of my country as a her, that’s true. 219 00:13:33.010 –> 00:13:34.620 Kay: As I drive through her. 220 00:13:34.620 –> 00:13:35.930 E: She must be taken care of. 221 00:13:36.940 –> 00:13:38.410 E: Yep. That’s true. Right through her. 222 00:13:38.770 –> 00:13:45.369 E: You have to… it is to her, because you have to, you have to take care of her, you have to patronize her. 223 00:13:45.490 –> 00:13:48.009 E: You have to make sure she knows her place. 224 00:13:48.310 –> 00:13:53.720 Kay: You have to tip her now. Everywhere you go in her is a high-tipped place. Oh, you have a. 225 00:13:54.530 –> 00:13:58.269 E: Hold on, hold on, hold on, I got a child intervention. What is it, bud? 226 00:13:58.270 –> 00:13:58.790 Kay: Yes. 227 00:13:58.790 –> 00:14:03.010 E: My, my… I’m really making? 228 00:14:03.430 –> 00:14:04.170 E: Cool. 229 00:14:06.860 –> 00:14:12.980 E: Is this a gift to you? Oh, wow! But you have yours, right? And it has water. Okay, keep drinking water, bud, okay? I love you! 230 00:14:13.870 –> 00:14:14.650 Kay: Precious. 231 00:14:15.160 –> 00:14:16.090 Kay: How lovely. 232 00:14:16.810 –> 00:14:17.679 Kay: A nice child in her. 233 00:14:17.680 –> 00:14:20.899 E: I’m putting in my 5… hold on, I’m putting in my 5 minutes of parenting for the day. 234 00:14:22.000 –> 00:14:24.430 Kay: Now, is this your child, or is this a random child? 235 00:14:24.430 –> 00:14:26.509 E: Do you wanna… you wanna use it? 236 00:14:31.040 –> 00:14:34.159 E: Oh, oh, your water bottle isn’t there anymore. Ask someone who… 237 00:14:35.140 –> 00:14:38.490 E: They probably know where it is. 238 00:14:39.660 –> 00:14:42.699 E: Yeah, there’s, there’s, like, all these activities. 239 00:14:42.850 –> 00:14:48.999 E: And I brought my son’s water bottle to one of the activities, and he’s just pointing out that it’s not there anymore. 240 00:14:49.670 –> 00:14:50.450 Kay: -Oh. 241 00:14:51.320 –> 00:14:52.959 Kay: Thankfully, thankfully you’re at a mall. 242 00:14:52.960 –> 00:14:57.159 E: This is something responsibilities in the world is. 243 00:14:57.380 –> 00:15:01.180 E: And then I would have been like, I don’t know, and then he would have been like, it’s your responsibility. 244 00:15:01.300 –> 00:15:08.580 E: If you don’t know where it is, it’s because you didn’t do a good job. If you didn’t do a good job, and then you would have gotten angry. 245 00:15:08.980 –> 00:15:10.490 E: People have gotten angry at me. 246 00:15:10.710 –> 00:15:19.319 E: I mean, it would have, like, been a thing that I felt bad for Parenting 101. I would be upset, and then I would feel bad. I would feel that I’m maybe inadequate. 247 00:15:19.450 –> 00:15:32.429 E: And then, he would feel angry that I didn’t take it seriously, and then I would feel angry that I feel like I’m a bad person. And then, we would just do that several times throughout the day. 248 00:15:32.980 –> 00:15:38.340 Kay: Nice. That’s parenting… I think you were acing the parenting, game there. 249 00:15:39.470 –> 00:15:41.030 Kay: I like it. I like it. 250 00:15:41.660 –> 00:15:43.100 Kay: You’re describing a perfect pair. 251 00:15:43.100 –> 00:15:43.650 E: Yep. 252 00:15:45.350 –> 00:15:49.809 E: Man, I think… I think the administration’s view on this, man, peace to, strength. 253 00:15:50.770 –> 00:15:52.890 E: I… I want nothing more than peace. 254 00:15:53.020 –> 00:15:57.199 E: And so I do everything to achieve this, including not engaging… 255 00:15:57.200 –> 00:16:02.210 Kay: Exactly, it’s sort of like, walk… what is it? Walk quietly and carry a big… 256 00:16:02.450 –> 00:16:03.800 Kay: Stick or something like that? 257 00:16:03.800 –> 00:16:05.860 E: softly, and carrying a big step. 258 00:16:05.860 –> 00:16:06.679 Kay: I almost got it. 259 00:16:06.680 –> 00:16:08.500 E: Yep. Teddy Roosevelt, man. 260 00:16:09.000 –> 00:16:09.440 Kay: He was a great… 261 00:16:09.440 –> 00:16:11.670 E: One of our best mustachioed 262 00:16:13.160 –> 00:16:19.359 E: he was a bit of an outsider himself, too, man. He had… you know, that was back when, Progressive… 263 00:16:19.510 –> 00:16:27.250 E: meant… like… strongly engaging American power overseas. 264 00:16:27.740 –> 00:16:29.230 E: Protecting, right? 265 00:16:29.230 –> 00:16:29.580 Kay: aggressive? 266 00:16:29.580 –> 00:16:30.210 E: of hearts. 267 00:16:30.210 –> 00:16:36.979 Kay: I guess he was, yeah. That, that was… that was the progressive movement of the early 20th century, was to… 268 00:16:37.040 –> 00:16:46.950 E: was to, kind of, like, protect and create natural reserves, because we have the most beautiful country on Earth, and it’s a deeply diverse and… 269 00:16:47.150 –> 00:16:54.090 E: Has, has a biome that is, expansive. It’s a massive country, and we want to protect 270 00:16:54.230 –> 00:16:58.759 E: Back to the wild places, so we can enjoy them, so we can go in there and be men. 271 00:16:58.950 –> 00:17:05.360 E: And ride around on these bulls, and shoot guns in the air, and climb a tree, and eat the fruits. 272 00:17:05.800 –> 00:17:11.039 E: And Teddy Roosevelt was all about that, man, rode a fucking horse in Cuba and killed a bunch of foreigners? 273 00:17:12.030 –> 00:17:17.249 Kay: Well, you know, there’s a story where he… he was one of the first presidents to go 274 00:17:17.470 –> 00:17:27.579 Kay: out west with… others had just heard about it maybe through photos, but he actually went out and camped, and it was, like, a big deal, to get out west and actually see it. 275 00:17:27.589 –> 00:17:30.449 E: He was a huge… he was a… he was a huge, 276 00:17:30.919 –> 00:17:35.309 E: This is a proponents of the national parks, the ICK, the part of. 277 00:17:35.310 –> 00:17:41.640 Kay: Yeah, and this is why we have such a big government, is because he ruined it, by… 278 00:17:42.000 –> 00:17:47.329 Kay: Spending all these… all this money to… to employ all these people protecting a bunch of stupid 279 00:17:47.590 –> 00:17:51.260 Kay: Trees that they could just turn into housing. 280 00:17:52.140 –> 00:17:53.530 E: Yeah, progressive. 281 00:17:54.530 –> 00:17:55.569 Kay: So that’s why. 282 00:17:56.300 –> 00:18:00.010 E: That’s what it meant back then. That’s what it meant back then. Right now, people use the Bitcoin. 283 00:18:00.010 –> 00:18:02.679 Kay: Let’s Let’s jump into our first topic. 284 00:18:03.230 –> 00:18:05.560 Kay: Because I’m… I’m too jealous. 285 00:18:05.560 –> 00:18:06.450 E: Yeah, with this feedback. 286 00:18:06.450 –> 00:18:08.420 Kay: Beautiful, futuristic city. 287 00:18:08.420 –> 00:18:08.930 E: forgot. 288 00:18:08.930 –> 00:18:15.130 Kay: We were talking about the H-1B visa situation. I sent you in kind of like a… Oh, yeah. 289 00:18:16.220 –> 00:18:25.589 Kay: Like, a short clip of the… of this podcast that I sometimes listen to called the All In Podcast, which, by the way, I’m not 100% a fan of anymore, especially. 290 00:18:25.850 –> 00:18:28.729 Kay: Sometimes I feel like they’re just basically the… 291 00:18:29.160 –> 00:18:36.520 Kay: sounding board for the current administration, like, they’re just… they’ll say whatever… whatever the administration’s doing, they’ll say, this is great. 292 00:18:36.790 –> 00:18:39.179 Kay: no matter what, which I think is a little… 293 00:18:39.620 –> 00:18:43.800 Kay: annoying. I feel like I’m listening to the propaganda arm sometimes of the administration. 294 00:18:43.800 –> 00:18:44.400 E: Right. 295 00:18:44.750 –> 00:18:48.479 Kay: It used to be that they would think… they kind of thought a little more… 296 00:18:48.800 –> 00:18:50.650 Kay: Independently, but I’m not sure. 297 00:18:50.940 –> 00:18:51.550 Kay: So there’s. 298 00:18:51.550 –> 00:18:52.060 E: I don’t know. 299 00:18:52.060 –> 00:19:01.410 Kay: One of them that’s not on board, and he’s… sometimes he’s… and he’s not particularly… he’s… he sometimes is not as smart as the rest, so he kind of gets, like, pummeled by everybody. 300 00:19:01.740 –> 00:19:05.589 Kay: I love that. But anyway, let’s… that is fine. 301 00:19:05.590 –> 00:19:06.909 E: Are people listening, man. 302 00:19:06.910 –> 00:19:10.760 Kay: Yeah, exactly. I think they still may today, On this one. 303 00:19:10.760 –> 00:19:15.100 E: I’ll put in a quick plug… I’ll just put in a quick plug in for my overreaching… 304 00:19:15.520 –> 00:19:25.400 E: Concept of politics is that partisanship and ideology ruin… Country… I think the… the math… 305 00:19:25.620 –> 00:19:29.109 Kay: The mass of people who have the most in common economically. 306 00:19:29.110 –> 00:19:32.420 E: the kind of, like, 60-80% of Americans 307 00:19:32.580 –> 00:19:38.469 E: Whose interests are very tightly bound together, are divided by partisanship and ideology, very much on purpose. 308 00:19:38.470 –> 00:19:38.910 Kay: Hmm. 309 00:19:38.910 –> 00:19:50.379 E: Because the powerful wouldn’t be able to get what they want. How could you make a system in which 1% of the people get 90% of the benefits, unless you found a way to divide up the rest of the people? 310 00:19:50.540 –> 00:19:55.340 E: And so, ideology and partisanship will get you there. And so… 311 00:19:59.140 –> 00:20:06.610 E: Because a democracy requires not only that you have access to information, but… which, nowadays, people have a ton of access to. 312 00:20:07.040 –> 00:20:15.470 E: But it also requires people to be free thinkers, and not fall into party lines, not fall into ideological lines. When people look at a situation. 313 00:20:15.730 –> 00:20:16.869 E: For them to think. 314 00:20:17.180 –> 00:20:30.419 E: oh, what side, you know, what side is my camp on? And you start thinking there instead of thinking, well, what do I think about this? You know, what’s in my best interest here? When we step away from that. 315 00:20:30.650 –> 00:20:36.390 E: you know, I think that elites win. There’s been so many different economic systems 316 00:20:36.500 –> 00:20:42.909 E: And the elites have always won. In the system they currently have, I think the benefits are the most dispersed, perhaps, that they have ever been. 317 00:20:43.310 –> 00:20:47.929 E: But, I could be better, and I think common people like you and me 318 00:20:48.240 –> 00:20:55.510 E: Be free thinkers and stop dividing ourselves up against partisanship and ideological lines and have free-thinking conversations. 319 00:20:55.780 –> 00:21:02.230 E: I think that’s the… I think that’s the way to go. It’s just really sad, I agree, that these guys, who are smart, successful guys. 320 00:21:02.750 –> 00:21:08.799 E: have fallen into this rut lately, where it feels, to me, partisan, and it feels ideological, and… 321 00:21:09.000 –> 00:21:12.229 E: I think partisanship and ideology… ideology… 322 00:21:12.790 –> 00:21:17.730 E: just ruined democracy. I strongly dislike heavily biased. 323 00:21:18.180 –> 00:21:19.210 E: Stop along. 324 00:21:19.210 –> 00:21:21.390 Kay: I would like it to be a little more. 325 00:21:21.650 –> 00:21:24.499 E: Well, the thing is that the problem is that they were actually. 326 00:21:24.500 –> 00:21:27.190 Kay: Again, these particular guys were… 327 00:21:27.310 –> 00:21:32.319 Kay: I guess on the mostly progressive side about 5 years ago, one of them was always very far right. 328 00:21:32.670 –> 00:21:36.969 Kay: And then they all kind of moved towards him in the last 2 years, and… 329 00:21:37.220 –> 00:21:39.919 Kay: Actually, I shouldn’t say they all. There’s actually the other guy that… 330 00:21:39.920 –> 00:21:44.110 E: I’ve been most of… I’ve been most of voting America. 331 00:21:44.110 –> 00:21:50.960 Kay: Yeah, no, that’s true. The other guy that’s on the podcast that I do think has kept us fairly independent 332 00:21:51.240 –> 00:21:58.470 Kay: stance is… his name is Freeberg, so Kalakanis and Friedberg would be the more independent. The other two have gone very… 333 00:21:58.740 –> 00:22:02.710 Kay: Very right. Well, I wouldn’t even say it’s, I mean, right or left, it’s more like they’ll go. 334 00:22:02.710 –> 00:22:03.270 E: Honda. 335 00:22:03.620 –> 00:22:10.390 Kay: They’ve gone into the administrative dome of mine, of, you know, whatever. 336 00:22:10.390 –> 00:22:10.750 E: Yeah, yeah. 337 00:22:10.750 –> 00:22:13.189 Kay: Yeah, it doesn’t matter what, you know, what side it is, it’s just… 338 00:22:13.190 –> 00:22:18.170 E: movement, I mean, Make America Great Again movement, right, as headed by Donald Trump. 339 00:22:18.430 –> 00:22:23.850 E: I think has a certain set of, kind of, like, basic position. 340 00:22:23.950 –> 00:22:30.779 E: not a ton of intro, just position that changed as Trump As the president, Chenzhou. 341 00:22:31.000 –> 00:22:34.230 E: The positions of these people change, because the over… 342 00:22:34.370 –> 00:22:38.670 E: The… what binds the movement together is a set of grievances. 343 00:22:39.250 –> 00:22:41.610 E: It’s not actually a set of solutions. 344 00:22:42.380 –> 00:22:47.000 E: They’re actually very flexible in the solution, which is kind of the refreshing part, if you think about it. 345 00:22:47.410 –> 00:22:50.490 E: True. But they have… they’re bound by grievance. 346 00:22:50.810 –> 00:22:56.379 E: And that is what is normally common in populist or fascist movements. 347 00:22:56.700 –> 00:23:00.360 E: If you think of, like, Nicaragua, man. 348 00:23:00.810 –> 00:23:09.940 E: like, they have this, like, weird Ortega Santinista movement, which purports to be Marxist. It’s not, but it purports to be left-wing. 349 00:23:10.090 –> 00:23:16.079 E: But they’re just these populist, authoritarian governments who rely on the strain of grievance. 350 00:23:16.310 –> 00:23:20.180 E: Same thing, you know, the communist revolution of Russia. 351 00:23:20.290 –> 00:23:35.930 E: grievance, the Nazi movement in Germany, grievance. They don’t actually have… the solutions change, right? As the populace, begin to fail to actually do anything about the grievances, the solutions change constantly. 352 00:23:36.060 –> 00:23:36.580 E: Bless us. 353 00:23:36.580 –> 00:23:37.180 Kay: Right. 354 00:23:37.180 –> 00:23:37.950 E: Pink them together. 355 00:23:37.950 –> 00:23:50.140 Kay: If you think about it, the best… best administration we’ve had is without… without, you know, hands down, it was the Bush administration, because there was no grievance, it was just dominance and greatness, and let’s go… 356 00:23:50.350 –> 00:23:52.920 Kay: took over… Iraq. 357 00:23:53.680 –> 00:23:55.760 Kay: So, I mean, I think, I think that was. 358 00:23:55.760 –> 00:23:58.420 E: Yeah, the neoconservative movement was a very… 359 00:23:58.760 –> 00:23:59.370 Kay: They’re clean. 360 00:23:59.370 –> 00:24:04.769 E: movement, it’s a very interesting moment in time, right? Like, hey man, it’s like, hey, hey, my. 361 00:24:04.770 –> 00:24:05.320 Kay: We’re winning. 362 00:24:05.320 –> 00:24:16.789 E: Democracy’s great, right? And you’re like, yes, democracy is great, actually. Like, hey, don’t you want to give this great thing to other people? And you’re like, well, I mean, yes, but what… what do you mean by that? 363 00:24:16.890 –> 00:24:21.030 E: Like, well, hey, look, there’s this country called Iraq, and they don’t have the scraping that we have. 364 00:24:21.250 –> 00:24:29.319 E: called American Democracy, and I think they should have it, so what do you think, what do you think, what do you say we go over there and we gave it to them? And you’re like, oh, that sounds nice. 365 00:24:29.320 –> 00:24:30.820 Kay: As a side note, I was… 366 00:24:31.280 –> 00:24:38.720 Kay: I was just watching… I started to watch, but I couldn’t really make it through it very far, but I started to watch, what was that Team America movie? 367 00:24:39.290 –> 00:24:39.900 Kay: And… 368 00:24:39.900 –> 00:24:40.469 E: Haha, yeah. 369 00:24:40.470 –> 00:24:50.649 Kay: It’s a really funny beginning scene. I have to say, like, the rest of the movie, I think, goes downhill very quickly, but that first scene where they’re in France, blowing up everything… 370 00:24:50.840 –> 00:24:59.640 Kay: with, you know, from the perspective of, like, America, like, yeah, they, like, I think they, like, parachuted and started, like, destroying the beauty of… 371 00:24:59.640 –> 00:25:02.320 E: Yeah, yeah, yeah, because they’re trying to destroy the terrorist, man. 372 00:25:02.320 –> 00:25:03.840 Kay: Right, right, exactly. 373 00:25:03.840 –> 00:25:05.020 E: the Eiffel Tower, and you’re like. 374 00:25:05.020 –> 00:25:05.879 Kay: Yeah. He’s like… 375 00:25:05.880 –> 00:25:06.960 E: Sorry, guys. 376 00:25:08.520 –> 00:25:14.760 E: And at the very end, after everything’s destroyed, everything’s in rubble, they, like, load back onto the helicopters, and they’re like, you’re welcome! 377 00:25:15.050 –> 00:25:15.860 Kay: Right? 378 00:25:16.230 –> 00:25:18.910 Kay: Such a great, greatest symbolism. 379 00:25:19.030 –> 00:25:28.970 E: Anyway, so… There’s that quote from the Vietnam War, from that, I don’t forget which officer said it, but it says, like, you know, we had to destroy the town to save it. 380 00:25:29.820 –> 00:25:30.770 Kay: Right. 381 00:25:31.280 –> 00:25:37.199 Kay: And they should. Paris… Paris definitely needs that. So back to the H-1B visa… 382 00:25:37.200 –> 00:25:42.819 E: All in podcasts, we’re talking about H1Bs, and there’s a lot of business guys in there, right? They know a lot about this topic. 383 00:25:42.820 –> 00:25:51.790 Kay: Absolutely. So, my initial reaction when I heard it this week was… and actually, I heard this on even CNBC. I think they asked someone on CNBC 384 00:25:52.120 –> 00:25:57.619 Kay: what they thought, and his reaction, he was a CEO of a tech company, and he said. 385 00:25:57.910 –> 00:26:05.230 Kay: this is… you know, he’s like, I’m not gonna be… he wasn’t… he was careful with his words, he wasn’t too critical, but his feeling was. 386 00:26:05.450 –> 00:26:09.600 Kay: Hey, I mean, I’m all about us bringing the best and the brightest in. 387 00:26:10.090 –> 00:26:23.590 Kay: We’ve always done it as a country. I’m against anything that would stop us from bringing the best and the brightest into this country, and I feel like this new fee is going to prevent us from getting access to the best and the brightest, so that’s my feeling. 388 00:26:23.790 –> 00:26:30.169 Kay: And when I heard it, I said, that’s a good point, yeah, I mean, do we as a country want to risk 389 00:26:31.370 –> 00:26:33.300 Kay: Cutting ourselves off. 390 00:26:33.440 –> 00:26:38.219 Kay: From some of the brightest people in the world, because, what, of patriotism? What is this about? 391 00:26:38.690 –> 00:26:42.400 Kay: And so that was kind of my attitude going into listening to the podcast. 392 00:26:43.070 –> 00:26:50.910 Kay: As I listened, though, two things were brought up that I thought were interesting, which was, one, 393 00:26:51.480 –> 00:27:01.999 Kay: the H-1B visa has a history of being… and I guess it’s sort of like an industry-known thing in Silicon Valley, it has a history of being quite abused. And by the way, I know that you know way more about 394 00:27:02.460 –> 00:27:10.470 Kay: this world than I do as a employee of a journalistic organization that writes about such Topics a lot. 395 00:27:10.810 –> 00:27:13.629 Kay: So I will… I would like to hear your thoughts on it, but… 396 00:27:14.130 –> 00:27:16.749 Kay: I just… just from what I heard. 397 00:27:16.900 –> 00:27:26.429 Kay: the gist of it is that it’s mostly a way for large companies to not… if you think about the IT world. 398 00:27:26.920 –> 00:27:34.309 Kay: most of the companies that are given the H-1B visas are not actually people, they’re more companies, a lot of them 399 00:27:34.770 –> 00:27:49.260 Kay: a lot of companies out of, like, India receive these visas, and then they can find someone to fill the position. They can send someone over to the US for, like, $60,000 a year, which is half the cost of what they might pay an American to do fairly, like. 400 00:27:49.440 –> 00:27:54.140 Kay: generic IT work. It’s not, like, the best and the brightest kind of work that are often brought in. 401 00:27:54.600 –> 00:27:58.359 Kay: And then… and again, I’m just kind of talking in generalities. 402 00:27:58.830 –> 00:28:01.499 Kay: And then they can kind of put a… 403 00:28:02.000 –> 00:28:06.039 Kay: put somebody who’s working in this IT job in the US 404 00:28:06.180 –> 00:28:12.770 Kay: In a strange position wherein they’ve been given this big opportunity, But if the company… 405 00:28:13.310 –> 00:28:18.050 Kay: wants to, they can pull it at any time and send this person back. And so there’s almost a sense of, like. 406 00:28:18.200 –> 00:28:22.560 Kay: I kind of have to do whatever you say. I have to work long hours, I have to be the guy that… 407 00:28:23.050 –> 00:28:24.190 Kay: maybe, like. 408 00:28:24.450 –> 00:28:34.619 Kay: does the new updates at an IT infrastructure center, and I’m gonna be there all weekend long, work… plus my 40 hours, so I might be there 60, 70 hours that week. 409 00:28:35.010 –> 00:28:38.879 Kay: And if I don’t comply, I might be sent back, because… 410 00:28:39.400 –> 00:28:51.979 Kay: they can replace me easily with somebody else. So the question really was brought out, is this really bringing over the best and the brightest, or is this really, the more cynical view, just a way for big companies, big tech companies, to save a bunch of money? 411 00:28:52.590 –> 00:28:55.299 Kay: And the best and the brightest are going. 412 00:28:55.300 –> 00:29:03.970 E: I’m sorry to cut off your flow here. I gotta go really quick. I gotta grab Mati for something, but let me call you back, and we can. 413 00:29:03.970 –> 00:29:05.130 Kay: Oh, sure, I’ll pause it right here. 414 00:29:05.130 –> 00:29:10.099 E: We can do, like, a tight… we can do… we can do a tight 15 minutes on this, because I… I have a lot to say about this episode. 415 00:29:10.100 –> 00:29:11.789 Kay: Alright, cool, cool. Alright, well, we’ll pause it here.