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This is my miracle bell.
This is Michael Cohen and you're listening to the one and only mayor called the podcast. 20 days.
That's where we're at. 20 days into a war with Iran and I want to be very clear from the outset
because too many people are afraid to say it plainly or they say it in whispers when they should
be shouting it. I believe I believe that Iran was dangerously close to acquiring a stockpile
of highly enriched uranium not necessarily a fully weaponized nuclear device but material
that could have been refined further or repurposed into something immediately dangerous
including dirty bomb material. That distinction matters. Hundreds of kilograms of uranium enriched
is 60 percent. It's not some theoretical risk. It is a tangible, quantifiable danger that could
be transformed into a nuclear weapon in weeks or used as a radiological weapon capable of mass
disruption and the world cannot allow we run to possess a nuclear device not someday,
not eventually, not under any circumstance. But acknowledging the threat does not give any
president of any party. I don't care Republican Democrat. It does not give any president the right
to act without restraint because here's the paradox that we face. In responding to the danger,
we risk creating new dangers. Military strikes, disruption of inspections and the fog of war
have now made it harder to track the very material that we sought to contain. Bombs made destroy
facilities but they cannot always destroy risk. They can in fact obscure it. You see we are left now
with uncertainty where the once was at least partial oversight and that uncertainty it carries
consequences that could last for years. You know at the same time the cost of this war it's already
being felt across the country. Oil prices are climbing, markets are unsettled and Americans are
paying more at the pump. Families already stretched thin or now facing the added burden of global
conflict hitting their wallets. Wars are expensive not just in lives but in the everyday reality of
households across the country. Food, rent, transportation, healthcare, all of this become more difficult
when geopolitical uncertainty drives the price of fuel and goods upwards.
The economic toll is immediate and more importantly it is personal. This is a war that does not
just play out on distant shores. It lands squarely in people's living rooms in their bank accounts
in their decisions about how to provide for their families. And then there's the question of
accountability. You see the War Powers Act of 1973 it actually gives the president a 60-day window
to engage militarily without Congress particularly under the justification of an imminent threat
Trump? Well he sees that authority and not illegally but right at the edge of what the law
was meant to allow. The law was designed to force the bait, oversight and congressional action
not to provide a blank check. And yet here at home the guardrails are being tested to their limit.
A Senate vote to impose meaningful restrictions it failed. No oversight, no course correction,
just silence, silence and deference where they should have been at least a debate.
The clock is ticking and unless Congress asserts itself before the 60-day window expires
what was intended as a temporary measure risks becoming something far more permanent.
And meanwhile the definitions of imminent are being stretched in ways that should alarm every
American. Tulsi Gabbard for example, she declared in committee hearings that only the president
can determine what qualifies as an imminent nuclear effect. Let that sink in only the president
can determine what qualifies as an imminent nuclear threat. I mean for God's sakes if the threshold
for war rests solely on one man's personal judgment then the checks that were supposed to
exist are for, I don't know, all practical purposes evaporating. Power once expanded does not
easily recede. The consequences of that expansion are not theoretical, they are real and they could
affect every future president, every future decision to commit American forces abroad
and every calculation of global nuclear risk. And the cracks? Yeah, the cracks are showing elsewhere,
MAGA, long defined by loyalty and cohesion, it's now fracturing over this war. Some supporters see
decisive action, others see another open-ended entanglement with no clear exit strategy. Internal
resignations, letters and quiet exits from administration officials suggest dissent, discomfort
and disagreement behind the scenes. Even within the president's own coalition, questions, real
questions are being raised that cannot be ignored. The moment reveals that unity is fragile when
the stakes are existential. But my friends make no mistake, this is a moment of reckoning and not
just for those in power, but for those who aspire to hold it. Criticism from the outside, well that's
just easy. Real leadership demands stepping forward with clarity, with courage and a plan that
restores accountability. It demands an understanding of both the necessity of strength and the cost
of miscalculation. Someone who can see war, not as an abstraction, not as a political talking point,
but as a series of decisions that affect lives, livelihoods and the very security of our nation.
Because make no mistake, Iran posed a real and a growing nuclear risk. Dirty bomb material
in rich uranium stockpiles, these are threats that cannot be ignored. But belief in the threat,
it's not a substitute for strategy and fear, it's not a substitute for oversight.
We need leaders who understand both the danger and the responsibility that comes with responding to
it. Leaders who will demand accountability, oversight and transparency. Leaders who know that bombs
alone do not guarantee safety. Which is exactly why today we turn our attention to someone who
embodies that perspective. He's a retired army major who has seen war firsthand who knows the
weight of command who understands the consequences of every decision on the battlefield and in the
halls of power. Someone who's stepping forward now to bring accountability, his experience and
courage to the congressional floor because he is running to represent North Carolina's ninth
congressional district and he is major Richard Ojida. So let's go now to that conversation.
Major Ojida, welcome to Mayacopa and honor to have you want my audience to my listeners please
know that major Richard Ojida retired is running for North Carolina for district nine for Congress.
There's so much that I want to talk to you about, especially because of your military background
that I really want to ask you because right now major we are 20 days into an active U.S. military
engagement with Iran. You have missile strikes, naval deployments and the Persian Gulf. Are we
actually safer today or do you think that this incursion I don't know why they keep using the word
excursion but do you think that we're safer today or just more exposed? No we're definitely not
safer. We are without a doubt not safer. You know this is buffenary at best. I mean at the end of
the day before you move forward to try to wage war on anybody. You know the first thing you should
do is try to make sure that you speak to all of your allies to line up any support whatsoever.
But the problem is is for the last 10 years Donald Trump has done nothing but basically throw
stones at all of our allies and then he decides with you know BB Netanyahu that it's time to
wage war here and it's absolutely unacceptable. It was not done the proper way. You know the
American people the world did not ask for this and I really believe that you know a big part of
this was all just to try to keep people's eyes away from you know what's really going on
over here which is the Epstein files and I hate to say nothing would surprise me of Donald Trump
sending us to war to keep I mean he said it on on a recorded call you know F. Marjorie Taylor
Green you know you're not releasing the files start a war if you have to and that's what we are
and and it's it's horrible because now we're going to see more flag-draped coffins coming back
this way and the military and just real conflicts are eating this stuff up because they're the ones
who make all the money because of this. The average American is not going to make nothing the
average American is going to have to carry this on their shoulders and it's unacceptable.
You know I tell you there's some to which you said I agree with others you know one of the issues
that I have is the fact that we have as the American people we have absolutely zero intelligence
information that has been given to us so far as to the imminence for the need on that Iran strike
I don't know whether or not that information came from BB Netanyahu and the IDF I don't know if
it came from Saudi Arabia or from Qatar or the United Arab Emirates I don't know because we've
not been told literally nothing and as I watch these stupid press conferences every morning
with General Cain and worse Pete Hegseth at least Cain knows what he's talking about
I don't think this has anything to do with the Jeffrey Epstein file and I'm going to tell you
the reason why because while we're still at war the 20 days costed us a billion dollars a day
while we're still at war Congress has not stopped they have already now questioned a guy by the name
of Khan who was Jeffrey Epstein's private accountant they also have the hearing of a guy named
Indyku's Epstein's personal lawyer you know these investigations are continuing
new documents are still being demanded for release and new documents are still coming forward
every single day so I don't think that the goal is there my understanding right is that Congress
is still doing their job regarding the Epstein transparency act but I'm still again going to
defer to you who has military experience what was the imminence and why did it need to be done
so quickly let's see that's the thing though that's why it's like I don't think that it had to
be done so quickly I mean like what six months ago we bombed Iran because they were weeks away from
getting their hands on a nuclear capability and then all of a sudden Pete Hegseth is victory lap
you know and says oh we bombed them out of you know back to the seven ages there they're never
going to mess with us again and then six months later here we are again launching war with Netanyahu
because because we're worried that they were about to strike us with a nuclear capability so which
was it did you bombed them back into the Stone Age or were you lying to us and and you know in
terms of you know what's going on I think you're correct it's not gonna stop you know no matter what
they do on the right it's not gonna stop what's happening on the left because it's now it's now
happening you know like you said files are coming out they're still talking about it they're still
fighting to get everything that is being hidden to be allowed to be seen it's just it's one of
those things where it's like you know there's no reason why we we had to do this and here we are
and this is another war that's going to end up being you know waged on the backs of the average
citizens if you think that the billionaire class are going to send their kids you know that's not
going to happen yeah you know that's not happening I totally agree you know but my only concern I
wrote about this in my sub stack the other day I'm not really willing to take the chance of a nuclear
Iran right because once they have one then they basically they take back a lot of power and control
we lose the leverage within which to do what we just trust me if they were sitting with an arsenal
or even one nuke or one real dirty bomb right enriched uranium not to the nuke stage but to a
dirty bomb stage I don't think that they would America or anybody would go in so quickly they
would become the terror of the middle east and that's why since 1979 every single president every
single secretary of defense now of course secretary of war every single one of them have said it and
that goes to Bush Obama Trump Biden Trump again every single one have said the same slogan
Iran must never possess a nuke and I'm not willing to turn around and to take that chance
that's why I keep saying I wish to God the president would get in front of the camera
and instead of doing it while on Air Force One or while walking to Marine One I wish that he would
sit in the oval and engage the American people in a conversation about the basis for why we did it
what's the information what's the facts that you could tell us no I think I think you're right
on that aspect because once again like North Korea has 50 nuclear weapons you know we're not
rushing into there you know I think you're right about that reason but the reason why we're not
the distinction between North Korea and Iran Iran is a theocracy like they actually want to
die because the afterlife for them is better than the current life whereas North Korea Kim Jong-un
doesn't want to leave this planet ever right he's got the greatest fucking gig known to mankind
you know he tells a shitty joke he tells a shitty joke the whole country lasts yeah right you're
right you're spot on you're absolutely right and in you are right you know the Iran is one of
these places that we don't want them to be able to get that capability because many of them have
said it before that they know we know exactly what they're going to do with no you're spot on
in that aspect I just my thing is is that you know there's things that need to happen yes and
and there's there's a process and I feel like you know Pete Higgs said to them they just do what they
feel they think they want to do you know the whole thing about the bombing of the boats in the
Caribbean you know when they bombed that boat that had 11 people on it Pete Higgs did his victory
lap and actually as if he practically did it himself and then when somebody said whoa whoa if
you look at the video you'll see that there were still two survivors that were holding on to debris
and then you went back and fired a second third and fourth body killing them that's what we call
going back into the kill zone and double tapping people and once they said hey that's a war crime
all of a sudden Pete Higgs said doing his victory lap goes oh well I wasn't actually in the room
when that happened but I do support admiral the admiral who did so so you know I mean they're not
doing the the things the right way you know I don't tell people you know we have the military
decision making process and that's what happens when you put all these military minds in a room
together and they start coming up with you know three different types of you know these are the
three things we were thinking about doing and we're gonna basically start deciding which one is
best which one is worse to where we decide this is what we're going to do and that's not happening
you know Pete Higgs said that and we're just basically saying okay let's do this and they do it
and once again it's it's blowing up in their faces and at the end of the day this is gonna you know
it's only making the United States of America look bad you know I sit down and say to myself you know
we used to have a lot of allies and I don't really think we have very many allies I mean we've
got a lot of people out there that probably would still step up to the plate and help us if they have to
but we don't have the allies the way that we used to have the allies because Donald Trump has
throwing stones at them and and you know it's been going on for years and then all of a sudden
you know here we go we commit to a war and our allies are telling him no we're not gonna send
our troops down to the strait of war moves so they can ride a boat next to your boat and end up
potentially maybe even being sunk and killed so that you can have somebody else and that
kills them with you no that's not good don't worry about that right so major let me ask you this
because you've seen combat up close eye on the other hand I've sat in those high pressure rooms
where decisions get made before the facts are fully baked gotta ask you this question do you
believe that this administration has the defined endgame before the first strike or do you think
that they improvising in real time I think this is complete improvising this is this is you know
they move forward and now they're trying to find you know allies do it since that doesn't happen
if you do it the right way if you do it the right way first off before you do anything you contact
your allies and say hey we're thinking about doing this and this is the reason why we're doing
this and if it's a good enough reason then your allies should say well you know what it's a good
reason so we will support you on that ask you know we will support you and and then there's you
know we'll support you with either troops we will support you with allowing you to use the bases
in our country to basically launch strikes from that stuff didn't happen you know and then and then
and then in the after effects you Donald Trump but then go ahead and do it and then all the
said Donald Trump Trump starts screaming we're gonna cut ties with Spain because Spain is now saying
they're not gonna allow us to use their facilities to continue with bombing raids you know it's
they're doing it the wrong way and and it tells me that they don't really have anybody that is up
there that's actually really telling them the way to go and if they are they're choosing to not
listen to it and do it on their own so Trump chose this path predicated on what's called the war
powers act of 1973 I started watching as soon as that first strike hit and I woke up I couldn't
freaking believe my eyes you know I get up at 4.30 in the morning I start writing my substack by then
I do all my own writing and you know I turn on the television I'm reading the newspapers you know
while I'm figuring out what I'm exactly gonna write about and I see this war this attack going on
in Iran I couldn't believe I thought I was dreaming and then I see all of these geniuses come out
this is unconstitutional this is illegal he's not following protocol that may be true
but he is following a right that the president has given to him under the War Powers Act of 1973
which allows 60 days of military engagement without any congressional approval now every president
before him has actually invoked at some point the War Powers Act as well but my question to you
is based on what we've seen so far you think that the president is operating within the law or you
think that he's stretching it beyond recognition you know I look at this and I think you know
why are we committing ourselves to another war I mean I look at I look at this as a forever war
and the only people that are going to benefit from this or the military industrial complex only
those who have stock in the military industrial complex you know but once again I also have to say
that you know you are correct I mean we do not want you know I ran to have that capability but
we bombed them six months ago and you told us that we bombed them out of existence they'll never be
able to get another capability he used the words right he used the words obliterated yeah
yeah so we obliterated them six months ago what are we obliterating now exactly so that's
my thing is that you know what it just be honest with the American people you know you bombed
the have out of them six months ago and we found okay we're good now I have a problem you know
they're taking away their ability to be able to have a nuclear capability I don't have a problem
with that but once again six months later here we are and now we're talking about putting troops
on the ground now you know you bomb our red and then and then you wonder why would they straight
you know decide to shut down the straight of hormones because that's the way they get to
reality retaliate by making life painful for everybody else you know when it comes to at the gas
funds and things like that but I mean once again you obliterated their capability six months ago
so now why do we have to rush into this war without going through and getting the permission
and talking to Congress about okay so let's let's play this out for a second because I acknowledge
what you're saying here and I agree with it you know I think that it's extremely important this
administration come clean with the American people you know it would stop a lot of the bullshit
chit chat that's going on right you know like when we send our military and when you know when
you were deployed you know you don't tell them hey you know we'll let you know where we're sending
you when you get there now I think you know in advance there's a strategy he did not have to
go to Congress that's obvious and shame on all of these asshole pundits that came out there because
all they do is they keep creating more and more conspiracy theories but it is a 60 day time limit
for him and then 30 days on a withdrawal so he has now 40 additional days because we are on day
20 for this military engagement before which he has to go to Congress which I have to tell you
I'm not certain he wouldn't get it how crazy is that right the fact that when you start seeing
folks like Mark Wayne Mullin being able to basically say nothing to refuse to answer or incapable
of answering and then moving further in the nomination process for this insanely important job
one that we just watched Christy Nome and you know pardon me for saying shoot the pooch right because
she did shoot her fucking pooch right I mean you know she shit the pooch on that one for sure right
get gets shit canned and now they're bringing somebody in who really knows very little about anything
I'm just like you I'm concerned yeah but see that's a thing though it's far for the course you know
Mark Wayne Mullin's not really qualified for this job but guess what Pete Higgs said there's
nowhere near qualified I am way more qualified for this job than Pete Higgs said this and I'm
no well I'm not even near qualified for that job you know we have a guy what's he's named Fugate
Fugate he's a 22 year old kid that was a groundskeeper and a grocery store clerk he's the one that's
responsible for keeping that safe right now from terrorism I mean Donald Trump places people in
positions not because of their you know that what what what makes them you know able to do that
job he puts people in those positions as long as they agree to say whatever you want Donald Trump
we will do you know I mean it's it's it's it's a joke Pete Higgs said is not he is not qualified
for this job and what bothers me is that and once again I'm trying to make it to Congress I want
to look some of these general officers in the face I'm going to look in the face and say tell
me something why did you sit quiet you know I got it you don't want you know to lose your job
you're a four star general you are an admiral you're as high as you're going to get I'm really you
stand up and fight and push back on some of this garbage then basically just go forward with it
especially if you know that it may be wrong I mean look at what Pete Higgs said then to add to
that admiral he threw him under the bus and then said sure I wasn't in the room but but I
support him wholeheartedly because because I'm pretty sure he did the right things no the moment that
you were told that what happened in that second third and fourth volley was a war crime all the sudden
your victory lap went to well I wasn't really in the room but I support the admiral for going in
and hitting that that measure so you remember when Pete Higgs said thought that he was like Tony
Robbins on the stage and he has like a buck fucking private is sitting there and he's schooling
admirals and generals right telling them about the the macho man code of military ethics and so on
and how we've all become too woke I mean this shithead right is sitting there and he's basically talking
to the top brass in this country guys who have fought um I mean you know got lost limbs the
whole nine yards these are these are oh yeah leader come combat stripes all the way up there's
they're right on combat stripes you know each stripe is six months in a combat zone and they've
got literally 20 stripes and he's telling them about the warrior ethos right because because he did
because he had commanded a squadron of six people these guys command thousands of people they're
running they're running strategy and so on I found that to be you know obviously you know one of
the factors the concept that you're referring to is meritocracy versus loyalty right you know if
they're not they're not brought in based upon merit they're brought in based upon their loyalty
but you see I'm with I'm with you on that you know congress of course as I was told not to
try part-time system of government they have the constitutional authority to declare war and yet
here we are it's interesting though that the administration pdegseth all of them across the board
they're not using the word war anymore they're trying to find other words anything other right uh
excursion and again I think the word that they're looking for was really incursion
incursion not an excursion right um you know they're calling it um a an operation like a military
operation at what point do you think especially since you are running for congress for district nine
in North Carolina at what point if you were right now in congress would you step in
and turn around and start to demand certain um information be provided oh now but and now I
mean once again what what are the objectives you know where where's our our our hit points of
the things that we want to do what what do we want to accomplish with this and then are we
prepared for you know what comes next I just I don't think that I kind of feel like everybody is
kept in the dark you know uh I still see you know we we we sank or or killed over what 150 people
in the Caribbean over a hundred people in the Caribbean that's the Caribbean and then the moment the
moment that we went down there and snatched up you know the president of Venezuela uh now all
the sudden the drug boats coming to America are are we don't hear about that anymore you know but
before before we went down there did that to Venezuela that was the top of this conversation
you know I'm gonna tell you this we bombed a school we bombed a school in our right and here's my
thing the last thing that we need to do is is do things that make us the bad guy you know look but
going after their ability to be able to to get a nuclear weapon that's justifiable we do not want
them to have a nuclear weapon but when you bomb things like a school or you bomb a place like
it's a factory that takes the salt out of the water so that people can have clean drinking water
when you do those things it doesn't look good on you and the thing about it is when you say oh well
we we were accidentally using older maps the United States military does not go down that path
that's the reason why we have the military and the military decision making process we make sure
that before we move forward our ducks are in a row before we move forward we have the most
updated maps available because if you don't have the most updated maps available you could find
yourself in situations where you are bombing places that could be schools and that's what happened
and it bothers me that we did not have the intelligence or that we did not look for the intelligence
before we moved forward and did this yeah I mean look obviously nobody wants to see
children you know whether they're female or male children at school getting blown up you know
that's I mean that's just an unfortunate you know scenario and I'm with you I would like to
get some answers on that as well as to where that fuck up came from because that and they've
acknowledged that they were operating I think Marco Rubio acknowledged that they were operating
off of an old map well yeah you know and they put the school directly next to one of their offices
all right within which I guess prevent the bombing but our laser guided systems today are so pin
you know they're so pinpointed that it wouldn't have made a day wouldn't it so I'm with you I would
again we just don't have any information at all and that's the part that I find the most disturbing
so let me ask you this question all right oil prices have surged since this conflict began
you know my son called me up he said to me holy shit you know I filled up literally two weeks ago
and it was three dollars and say 68 cents a gallon and now it's five dollars he goes he had to go
up so quickly right we're seeing and we are feeling this at the pump literally across the country
yep how long before this war becomes economically unsustainable for working Americans or do you
think that it's already here I mean well I think right now Americans are already having tough times
you know that's that's one of the big issues I mean and then the cuts that are being made in the
big horrible bill we're talking 86,000 jobs from the veterans administration there's just so much
stuff that's going on that are hurting the American people I mean you know when you've got
MAGA that are now starting to say look we've decided we're we're done now we're done they're done
because they're the ones that are that are not able to you know make it from month to month that's
what's going on right now and let me tell you something it's only going to get worse when these
things actually follow through when you cut and destroy Medicaid and that rural hospital that
relies on that Medicaid money to stay open when that hospital has to shut down the people that
live around that hospital that rely on health care now I have to move closer to health care
or they're pretty much hurt and I will tell you that's the kind of stuff to get happened I come
from southern West Virginia I'm going to tell you that the hospital that I grew up around
is on the chopping block because if Medicaid is is swacked that hospital was not used to and
here's what happens when you take people's ability to be able to afford decent health care the only
thing that they can do is always go straight to the emergency room because the emergency room is
the only place that is not allowed to say get out now the problem with that is is that the emergency
room has to take care of those people but those people don't have the ability to pay the emergency room
it's more pain on the hospital itself and it's going to cause that hospital have to shut down
and that creates ghost towns and that's an absolute fact when a hospital closes down or a
Walmart moves into your area and makes all the mom and pop stores shut them and then the Walmart
decides to pull its pitch and run because that's exactly what happened in Dow County West Virginia
and right now you've got a whole entire county of people the liberty have to wait to the first
of the month so that they can put gas in their cars so they can drive over to Mercer County to buy
you know thanks for their families and groceries because if they don't they get everything from
the dollar general and that is absolutely not the way the American dream is supposed to go
yeah especially nine to five dollars a gallon and they're not going to keep going too often right
so let me I'm going to ask because I don't know if you may know this because I was asking about
this early truck drivers now once again that's the backbone of this country you know what the
truck driver stopped today the the shelves don't get stopped I mean these are crucial people
do truck drivers have to buy their fuel out of their own pocket and then do they get reimbursed
by their country or company or is that just far to being a truck driver you take the cost of gas on
the can so that's a it's a great question and it's a bifurcated answer because some of the truck
drivers work for a specific company right and so they are contracted out at you know per job
or fifty dollars a hundred dollars based upon that commercial you know that commercial driver's
license to CDL obviously if they're working for a company it's the company is paying the gas
but otherwise if they're independent well it gets built into the cost so if Walmart
hires John Doe who's an independent commercial truck driver and he normally would try
would charge them for this specific haul say five hundred dollars now he needs to charge them
say six fifty because of the addition in the gas well here's the problem you know Walmart
Costco you know none of these big box stores are going to eat that on the chin so what do they do
they pass the cost on to the consumer so yet again it's almost like another tariff expense
that allegedly we're not paying for but we are so we're not just paying it at the pump and people
confuse us all the time it's called the circular flow of economic activity that's that's the
exact term this the circular flow of economic activity the big box chains the retailers
they're never the ones picking up the bill it's always the consumer consumers pay tariffs tariffs
are taxes when you go ahead and you now purchase your good from the big box store they now
increase the price of everything by say 25 cents 50 cents and you may not think that that's a lot
if you're going into buy one item but as you buy more and more items yeah it adds up very much like
the cost on the tariffs it just keeps adding up and all it does is deplete the money that people
need within which to live on because you're right major affordability is the number one issue
which is why every single special election that has been held since January of 2026 all 32 32
of them have all gone Democrat not one for a Republican and there's a reason why but I want to do
then instead of talking because you're I could hear it obviously in your accent West Virginia
but you are running for North Carolina for district nine so to your constituents this goes directly
to your constituents there in North Carolina when they are already living paycheck to paycheck
as is the vast vast majority of this country what is the sustained five dollar per gallon of
guess actually due to them oh it's it's brutal I mean it's like just like you said it's brutal
and then again once again I wasn't really thinking so much about you know the company the stores
themselves I mean people are already struggling people are already pissed off because they can't afford
groceries you know and and then this is only going to make it worse I mean you know I I personally
would like to be able to say that there's a lot of things that we could do that if we just start
taxing people I mean like the rich you know because it seems like the the middle class have carried
this country on their shoulders ever since Ronald Reagan said trickle down economics the billionaires
never let anything trickle down they just bought bigger plates you know I think it's time that we've
got to start doing what we can to try to help you know the people the average Americans that are
the ones that are always you know I guess I could say it on here always the ones that are fed
a shit sandwich because that's exactly what happens you know we've got to do things to try to make
life better for these people we've got to try to do things to help people with having adequate
health care you know I the teacher strike in West Virginia a big reason why we had a teacher strike
in West Virginia was not just about teacher pay but it was about the insurance for the teachers
because you know they were paying high prices for insurance and the insurance wasn't even really
adequate so you know I mean there's just so many different things that are happening out there
that you know people are hurting you know you get in the fender bender you get the fender bender
you pay into an insurance company for your car but you get into a fender bender and rather than
claim it on your insurance have the damn time you'll write a check and say here you go and I've
done that because I don't want it to claim it on my insurance so that my insurance is going to skyrocket
you know it's it's it's a no win situation you got to have insurance but the moment that your house
burns down everything that you own all of a sudden was depreciated and you know it's like it's like
we always make sure that the people the people and I'm going to say the people at the bottom which is
the average American citizen in this country they're the ones that are always on the chopping block
and and we just we got to figure out ways to help these people yeah we do meanwhile and I'm a firm
believer that healthcare should be universal I believe that all Americans should have and I'm it's
the one thing that I absolutely agree with Bernie Sanders on because I think Bernie Sanders is way
too far left for my taste I'm kind of left of center always have been but I am 100%
lock-in step with him I think universal healthcare should be in American right it should not exist
for just simply the wealthy it should not just exist for those that you know I I believe it should
be for everybody I really truly do but I want to get back into this because again you know you're
running for Congress and as we Democrats are heading into the 2026 midterms I actually believe
right that we still are walking a tightrope now if you look we are if you look at and I will never
stop saying that because the second we take our foot off the guests the same thing that happened
in 2025 will happen right I mean where Kamala got diced by Trump in all seven swing states not one
out of seven not three as him he took all seven out of seven swing states which was absolutely
an impossibility if you listen to the Democrats standing on the stage talking to the average American
person so here we are heading to the 2026 midterms and you who want to represent your constituency
as you talk to your to your constituents to the potential voters you think that you could risk
looking weak if you take a position that you oppose the war or if hypothetically you complicit
and you stay silent or do you have to take the position that like I do since again I'm not running
for anything I do not oppose the war in fact I'm more concerned as I wrote in my sub-stack article
of nuclear or a dirty bombed Iran and the damage that they will cause not just to the middle east
not just to the obliteration of Israel but also to the ability to strike the United States
with either an ICBM or a hypersonic missile what line do you tow now look at the end of the day I
I agree we do not want Iran to have the ability to have that I am not for I don't want to put
boots on the ground because putting boots on the ground means we're going to be in there for the next
10 to 20 years and I don't want that so I want to make sure that you know we're not committing
ourselves to another forever war but I also believe that they did it the wrong way you know they
they should have at least you know looked out and communicated with our allies I mean let's get
people behind us now let's not move forward because now nobody nobody's wanting to stand with us
and and that's not the way it's supposed to be you know uh so that's that's that's my thoughts and
that's what I say that's what I tell people you know look look I served this country for 24 years
wow bless and thank you for your service well I mean I've been die rack and Afghanistan multiple times
and and I'm going to tell you you know I've been into Iraq and I really believe that we were looking
for weapons of mass destruction and the truth is is there was no weapons of mass destruction you know
and we we we swacked over a million Iraqis and it was unacceptable you know we went into Afghanistan
you know what we had Osama bin Laden held up in the poor boar mountains and I'll tell you this
I don't know how much you know about Delta Force but I'm going to tell you you could have
took five Delta Force operators and you could have sent them into those caves and they would have
annihilated every single person in those caves and they would have drug Osama bin Laden's
bones out of it when they were done and all of a sudden we said stop what you're doing pull back
pull back and then we invade Iraq and that's what took place I mean you know when when I start to see
our government doing things like committing troops and and waging war I just want to make sure
because I don't want to be duped again and when we're talking about Donald Trump we're talking
about a man who historically does not know how to tell the truth to anybody so I worry about
us going and getting into another forever war because the only people to benefit from that are the
military industrial complex right there on Lockheed Martin Halliburton ran on route they're the
ones who benefit the African-American doesn't benefit it costs the average American money to weigh
and at the end of the day it's the average American sons and daughters that are the ones that are
going to come back and flag drink coffins and I despise that that should be the last resort for anything
and right now we've got Marines that are waiting to put boots on the ground and I ran people will die
people will get wounded you know you're sitting here not you but they're right now cutting the veterans
administration how dare you cut the veterans administration while you are beating the drums
of war and going after the health care that we have they're not talking about oh we're going to
go after fraud through the VA you know what the VA isn't perfect I belong to the VA and I deserve
the VA because I earned it dangerous gracious cutting VA capability I'm gonna bet that we're
starting cis removed from my body and I always were at wonder because I probably got four more
right now because they just pop up and I always take them myself it's probably it could probably
end up one day becoming cancerous I have been exposed to burn pits I've been on vehicles that were
destroyed with depleted uranium I mean you know this is stuff that we were exposed to you know I've
got a buddy in mind up for 24 years 24 years he walked the beat as the male delivery guy he was
in desert storm this guy's feet looked like that and it took them over 20 years before they finally
looked him into faith and said yeah you're suffering from Gulf War syndrome they said it didn't even
exist and this guy I actually used to display his military uniform in my office when I was a state
senator in West Virginia and his boots the the the souls jet black from walking in oil over during
desert storm yeah so you know to me I just I second me when these people beat the drums war because
they don't know the ramifications and oh by the way not only will will flag drape coffins come back
but broken men and women will come back that will rely on the veterans administration for the
rest of their life you know I am a big supporter of medical cannabis and you can see my background
there's a there's an eagle right there well if you look close enough those eagles there are that
eagle has 13 dog tags on the last day of the legislative session when I was a state senator I held
up those 13 dog tags and I said cannabis will not bring them back but cannabis can help those who
hear their screams and see their faces when they go to sleep at night and I had Republicans
stand up and say because of what you said I'm going to support your bill and my bill became
right that's a fact I can get saved done even in a super minority but you know what the veterans
administration needs to be starting to look at things like that because the truth is you and I
both know that every single pill that you take especially these days and I take a lot of medication
in the morning and at night and I have to but oh by the way if you do the research on that medication
you'll find out that it goes after your kidneys your liver so by the time I'm 65 years old
I may be able to tag on lists for a liver transplant when the truth is you could probably have given
me medical cannabis to help me sleep at night and it wouldn't cause those horrible things to my
body this is the stuff that we as veterans have to deal with but when we are continuing to
wage war where we do nothing but create more and more people to get in line at the veterans
administration it's it's hurting everybody in the end and these people that are the ones
waging this war they don't rely on that they don't belong to the VA and it's not their kids
that are out there you're not going to see Baron you know and oh by the way if they ever do
they're going to be jack officers you know and I say I don't think Baron is actually a candidate
because he's too tall no I think uh what's he saying I think he's what sticks I think he's
six nine right there's no I'm not sure that they were taken I think he's too big of a target you
know it would be very it would be very difficult and let me tell you something I've seen a lot of
I've seen a lot of tall people in the military uh you know you know he may not be able to exit
an aircraft as it is a paratrooper but I'm sure there's things I can do hey let me ask you this
question let me ask you this question you know I was contemplating uh on becoming a um uh
Delta Force the problem though is I have a fractured disc in my neck too with my lower back I've a
Thritis I have heart conditions and um you know and uh what do you got I hate the water I I don't like
I don't like the water and I'm also not really good with um heights what's the chances
then but I am a great shot I got to tell you that I'm like an eagle eye well I mean you know
there's always the the pathway to the to the sniper know you know if you want to be a sniper but
but once again you know to get into those positions those are combat rolls uh and and that's
what I tell people if you're willing oh yeah I mentioned that I'm 60 I mean but but I mean
but the thing is is that you know those are combat rolls I tell people if you're going to
commit other Americans to war you should be willing to commit your sons and daughters
if they are a fighting age right and and and you know that's the thing is that you know those
are the people who are going to have to carry it but don't I don't want your son and daughter
to go be a jack officer if you want to commit my son and daughter to war then you should commit
your son and daughter to war and oh by the way don't go to the jack officer out go infantry
go combat engineers go go positions where you're going to see action if you're going to vote
to wage war then you should send your children to go fight that war and not send other people's
children to go fight that war and that's the problem that we've had for a long time right and you're
not wrong you know I wanted to say this to you because we brought up before you know the whole issue
of the War Powers Act and how I do believe that um congress as you believe should be informed
even right now despite the fact that he has another 40 days under the War Powers Act to continue
this incursion this operation here's the part that bothers me and it's why I say that the president
has total control over the congress right now the senate the senate recently voted down I think
it was either yesterday or the day before they voted down a measure that was introduced by
democrats that would have required explicit approval to continue these hostilities it was voted
down does that vote essentially tell you that Trump for the next at least 40 days has total unchecked
authority I mean that's what it sounds like to me sounds like to be too right sounds like he does
I mean if they're not going to you know stand up and and push back but I mean at the end of the day
it's like I forget the guy's name he just resigned you know he was uh he was a green beret uh
a delta operator uh he resigned because he said that he could not continue doing what he's doing
when he believed that the intelligence shows that there was no reason for us to do
talking about Joe Kent yes yes the counterterrorism guy well okay so let's talk about Joe Kent
because he resigned yeah he sends a letter sends it directly to Trump he's reportedly raising
concerns about the internal decision making processes he makes all sorts of claims about
lack of um emergency uh or imminence and so on me I have a little bit of a different
subpoena as it relates to Joe Kent first of all I thought the letter was um poorly drafted
on his behalf I am not a fan of Joe Kent and um he whatever he did he did but what does that
signal to you about dysfunction or dissent inside of this administration oh I mean I think
that there's dysfunction without a doubt uh look I don't I don't you know say that I stand
with this Joe Kent guy I just say that you know if he just he come out and said that didn't
say that was something that needed to happen and then I have to think about the fact that six
months ago we bombed them and we bombed them into oblivion and then now we're back at it again
like I just I just want and like you said you know for the next 40 days the Senate have stood up
and they said look we're going to defend this yeah uh it is what it is I just I just hate seeing
American men and women committed to this I my biggest thing right now is boots on the ground
I just I know that if we put boots on the ground this does not stop you see you see major I want
answers that's all that I want I want to know that if I'm spending a billion dollars a day
plus if I'm going to have boots on the ground children American kids going there to fight right to
put their lives on the line for me I just want answers and that's what I really have against Joe
Joe Kent did not have the answers he wasn't in the room he doesn't know whether there was or was
not imminence within which to strike Iran and again I'm so conflicted because the fear of a nuclear
Iran the fear of a uranium enriched Iran is so devastating not just for the Middle East but for
all of the world the world because the Iran is a theocracy will use it within which to terrorize
everyone fuck they don't even have the missiles or the bomb or they don't have the enriched uranium
and they've been terrorizing the world since 1979 so imagine how much worse that they would be
I don't want my kids you know going to sleep here at night thinking oh where's the closest fall
out shelter we don't even have them here in New York City at least not that I'm aware of
yeah no no I understand I mean I we do not want Iran to be a country that has nuclear capabilities
because like you said I mean there have been plenty of threats that that that we know that if
they haven't they'll probably act on it I just once again though you know bitch be up front
honest you know be up front let us know tell us the truth if you if you didn't you know do it
with their capability then it is what it is but you told us six months ago it was they were
bombed back to the Stone Age I just I I don't want to continue putting troops you know on the
ground because I know what comes from that and it's the soldier that comes home that's broken
and bruised and and lost their their their their their their brothers and sisters and arms
and that's that's the light that you got to learn how to deal with and it's tough you know I'm
gonna tell you you know there were times when I really believe I was broken you know you can
justify death in the combat zone but you know I was I was one of the first people you know my
my brigade I was in second brigade uh 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment in the 82nd Airborne Division
we were the first on the ground when the earthquake and had Haiti happened and I'll tell you
you know like I said in combat you know they were coming up on us we used the rules of engagement
we eliminated threats you do what you got to do that's it's it's it's it's war but you can't
justify an entire school pancaking and killing every kid inside and it it broke me you know but
I will tell you there were also things that happened in places like Afghanistan that my body
literally shut out and then like four years later came back to me in a dream and when I woke up
I was physically like disturbed because I knew that it actually happened you know my body shut
that one situation out and four years later I'll wake up in the middle of the night because
it come back to me sure and you know my brother that's called that's called PTSD
that's that's but it's PTSD right I know I I have it from solitary confinement I did 51 I had 51
days of solitary confinement you know uh no movement nothing fifth you don't know whether it's
night it's PTSD and you got it but I do want to ask you this as the mayacopa hour comes to an end
if you major Richard O'Hida running for North Carolina district nine are elected to Congress
God willing in 2026 what specific legislation would you introduce in your first 100 days
to reassert congressional authority whether it's over war powers um or whether it's over gas
tax I don't know over what what would you what would you end up doing specifically something
really concrete not theoretical but really concrete okay there's a few things that I really
want to do obviously I want to sign on to ending citizens united that's that's definitely something I
want to do but I would like to make the first $45,000 that everybody makes to be tax-free the first
$45,000 imagine most teachers and school service personnel don't even make $45,000 a year so it
would basically say that you don't have to worry about paying taxes take care of that I would like
to tie the minimum wage to the cost of living so the prices of groceries go up minimum wage goes up
so if you're working 40 hours a week playing getting paid minimum wage you can still put food on
the table for your family uh there's other things that I want to do I would love to bring back
the fairness doctrine Ronald Reagan killed the fairness doctrine that's what brought Fox News
about and the truth is is that you know what I don't care if it's CBS NBC all of these news media
you know entities they should absolutely be required to speak the truth stop spewing garbage stop
spewing lies and look everybody's doing it everybody doesn't why can't we bring back the fairness
doctrine and say that if you are in news media you've got to be honest you got to tell the truth
and if you if you lie to the people you're going to get a severe fine if you keep lying to the
people you're going to be taking off the air you know that's the kind of stuff that I think we
need because there's a lot of horrible things that are going out there and it's poisoning the minds
of a lot of people and you know look I look you know I'll tell people if you're an independent
and you don't like what you see I'm your guy but if you're a Republican and you're sick and tired
of the you know the government that looks like all they care about is the filthy rich and everything
that they do takes away from the the average working class citizen I want to support those people too
I want to start making the billionaires pay their fair share you know if I give my house to my
children when I die they're going to have to pay taxes on that but the filthy rich have things put
in place to where they don't have to pay taxes on the things that they inherit they can buy
lear jets and and yachts and new houses and it's all tax write-offs but they pay less percentage
of taxes than a nurse does you know I I personally would love to try to see if we could create a
system since like you said we should have universal health care in this country but if we're not
going to give the people in this country universal health care then why don't we create a VA style
system for people like police officers firefighters first responders correction officers let's
show nurses in there and why not throw teachers and school service personnel because these are
seven groups of people that are always fighting for decent health care in their jobs why don't we
say that we're going to create a system we'll get the billionaires to pay for it and we say that if
you are a police officer firefighter or a first responder quick so you do one turn in that row your
health care is taking care of you can now go ahead get a retirement and then go get a second
retirement someplace else but you don't have to worry about your health care we should do that to
those people because I'm gonna tell you this the VA takes care of me might the VA does I have a
mental health person that sits down with every person that served in the military that gets their
disability set sits down with you to talk to you about your issues your PTSD police officers and
firefighters and first responders don't have that they have to swallow it and every single day they're
out there and in places like New York and Boston and Chicago we're talking about people out there
that are seeing some of the worst things that you could possibly see every other day mangled children
bodies being removed from horrific car crashes these are people that struggle with post-traumatic
stress disorder I tell people you find a person that does that job for 10 years and I'm gonna show
you somebody has a hard time sleeping a night and we should do everything in our power to try to
elevate these people because they deserve something and I am more than willing to go to Washington
DC and try to push for things like that you meant to that so my friends anybody there's that's in
that district nine of North Carolina you got major Richard O'Hee to running I want to thank you
for joining me on me a culpa any hope that you need from me my friend I'm here for you thank you
for your service to this country thank you for your desire to continue to provide service to this
country and thank you so much yeah I say good good luck my friend and you please stay in touch
because I need to stay in touch with you I appreciate you and I appreciate your fight so thank you
thank you to your audience and yes oh Jennifer Congress North Carolina's Night Congress
will be let's get it done you got it and now for today's may a culpa power doesn't always
announce itself for the bank sometimes it slips in quietly disguised as routine votes expedited
hearings and just enough plausible deniability to keep everyone comfortable that my friends
is exactly where we are right now and trump isn't just influencing congress oh no he's reshaping
it in his image and not through some grand constitutional rewrite but through something far more
subtle and far more effective conditioning lawmakers are learning in real time what happens when
you fall in line and what happens when you don't and increasingly they're choosing the easier path
take the case for example of Mark Wayne Mullen his nomination to lead the Department of Homeland
Security it should have been a moment facerious scrutiny I mean we are talking about one of the
most critical positions in the federal government I'm talking about an agency that sits at the
intersection of national security immigration disaster response and law enforcement this is not a
role for improvisation or bravado and yet during his confirmation hearing what we saw was not
command a policy or depth of experience but defensiveness contradiction and a truly troubling
comfort with rhetoric that edges toward political violence now that's not my interpretation oh no
it was called out directly by colleagues on both sides of the aisle even republican ran poor the
chair who is no stranger to partisan battles openly questioned Mullen's temperament I mean when
someone within your own party the chair for God's sakes is raising red flags about your ability to
lead that's supposed to matter or at least it used to and then there's Gary Peters who pointed
to Mullen's history of aggressive behavior and his failure to provide clear truthful answers
about his past claims including a so-called classified trip that appears not to exist in any
official record in any of the era that that alone would have been disqualifying but here's where
the story shifts from concerning to alarming you see despite all of this denomination advances
and not because the concerns were resolved but because they were overridden and the deciding factor
a single vote from Democrat John Federman who crossed party lines to push the nomination out of
committee that's not a triumph of bipartisanship that is the erosion of standards dressed up as
cooperation my friends what we're witnessing is a congress that is at least for now operating
less like a co-equal branch of government and more like an extension of executive will the
tri-partite system hasn't been formally dismantled but it is being informally redefined checks
and balances don't disappear overnight they weaken incrementally one rationalized decision at
a time and Trump he understands this better than most you see he doesn't need unanimous support
he doesn't need perfect candidates he just needs enough compliance to keep the machinery moving
enough votes enough silence enough people willing to say yeah this is fine when it clearly isn't
I've seen how this plays out behind closed doors the pressure it's not always explicit it doesn't have
to be ambition fear loyalty calculation they do the work on their own and before long the question
stops being is this the right person for the job and becomes is it worth the fight to stop it
that that's how you end up advancing a nominee for homeland security who struggles to answer
basic questions about his own record and shrugs off concerns about endorsing political violence
and that's that's the real warning here because once congress gets comfortable lowering the bar
for something this consequential it doesn't raise it again easily the precedent sticks the expectations
shift and the next nomination becomes just a little bit easier to push through so yes yes
Trump may have congress in the palm of his hand at least for now but the bigger issue isn't his
grip it's how many people seem perfectly willing to stay there and as always thanks for listening
this is my miracle bell
oh baby don't lie for me if i tell you my star don't cry for me i didn't have time that's fine
by me this is my miracle if you dance with the devil it's gonna go down tell the truth it's now
oh
this is my miracle it's coming on down
and you know where i'm going to bring it on down bring it on down bring it on down
President Barack Obama Virginia we are counting on you Republicans want to steal enough seats in
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Mea Culpa

