Speaker 1: Let's go back to the phone lines and hear from a few more people.
You can join the discussion at David Pakman dot com slash discord.
Let's go next to Raj from Ontario.
Raj, welcome.
Speaker 2: Hi, David.
I hope you're doing well.
Can you hear me?
Speaker 1: Well, I can hear you fine, Raj.
Speaker 2: Okay.
I just wanted to first say thank you for taking my call, as well as for holding a town hall,
especially at this part two to get everyone, please.
Also, congrats on your newborn.
I just heard about that yesterday as well.
Thank you.
No problem.
And my only question is, and I understand you're very busy, but would you ever consider
having an interview with Canadian author Stephen Marche on the current political situation
in the U.S.?
And that's all I'll let you answer.
And please stay safe and take care.
Speaker 1: All right.
I've never heard of the person.
I'm always willing to have interviews with people that are interesting.
But I would have to research the person and I wouldn't rule it out.
Is that fair?
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
Speaker 1: I will soon be in Canada, so I'm going to be undertaking my own investigation
as to who I should be interviewing, if that's fair.
Speaker 2: Wow.
Okay.
Yeah.
I hope you're I hope your journey to Canada is, you know, is a smooth one.
And I hope you enjoy your stay as much as you can.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I try not to get stuck at the border.
You know, these things can get very, very crazy with Canadian Border Patrol.
I'm worried they will not like my political activity and may not let me in.
Speaker 2: Just a word of advice.
If you can avoid Pearson International Airport, that's a big bonus because it's the biggest
one.
And, you know, delays are usually going to happen there.
But I you know, I don't think you'll have any issues come.
Speaker 1: Oh, no, I'll be I'll be driving and I'll be going up 87.
So it should be I mean, you know, you can get a line, the cars start queuing up, you
know.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Excellent.
Yeah, I'm sure I'll have a nice, nice drive up here.
Speaker 1: And there's electric vehicle chargers in Canada.
Speaker 2: Oh, our infrastructure's a little lacking, but like along the 401 and like,
you know, in metropolitan areas, you won't have any problem.
Speaker 1: Okay.
All right.
I don't wanna get stuck there.
That'd be humiliating.
Speaker 2: I know everyone to be humiliated.
You know, things happen all the time.
Okay?
It's okay.
Don't worry about it, do you?
I'm sure you'll.
You'll find a way.
Speaker 1: All right, Roge.
Thank you for the call.
Speaker 2: No problem.
Thank you very much, David.
And take.
Speaker 1: Care.
All right, you two very important considerations there.
Maybe I should just rent a gas powered car.
I don't know.
All right.
Let's go next to Chris from Massachusetts.
Chris, welcome.
Chris is one of our moderators who unmute themselves regularly.
Chris, welcome.
Speaker 2: Thanks for having me.
Pleasure.
I wanted to ask, do you do any like, you know, outdoor sporting activities like fishing or
anything like that?
I know.
Speaker 1: I've never.
Yes, hiking.
Yes.
I have never done I recently actually did some beautiful hiking in the Hudson, New York
area, which is quite an interesting area for hiking I fishing I don't do here's the thing
about fishing it seems so boring so so so boring.
And I get it's like a sort of Zen thing and you're out there on the water and whatever.
It just really seems boring to me.
Speaker 2: I mean, I would disagree.
Maybe because you're not catching anything.
Speaker 1: Well, I don't know that I'm I'm not catching or not packing.
I'm just not fishing, you know?
Speaker 2: The reason I ask is I just wanted to kind of take this opportunity to proselytize
a little bit about conservation.
Right now, there's a bill called the Return Act that was introduced by a Republican, and
it has about 50 or so Republican co-sponsors.
It's the Return Act.
And what it does is it seeks to repeal the Pittman Robertson Act.
And the Dingell Johnson Act acts from the early 20th century that put a 10 to 11% excise
tax on all firearms, ammunition, hunting, fishing equipment.
And the revenue from this from these two bills in some states makes up about 60% of all of
the conservation funding for, you know, maintaining state parks, maintaining public waterways.
And.
I think that because of how much funding for conservation comes from like the sporting
and the outdoors, the sporting part of the outdoors community, you know, we on the left
really need to think of like some creative ways to, you know, continue to fund conservation.
One of the proposals that has been fought against by the outdoor industry, you know,
is a what people call a backpack tax.
This would be a similar excise tax, 1 to 3% on other recreational, you know, goods like
boots, dirt bikes, backpacks, outdoor apparel.
And, you know, as somebody on the left who is part of Link, who is a hunter and an angler,
you know, I get a lot of kind of pushback from like, you know, people of the left to
have a distaste for, you know, hunting and fishing, which is fine, but.
We can't cede the conservation effort to the Republicans because they are going to continue
just like every other, you know, aspect of, you know, government, government funding.
They're going to try to undermine it, abolish it and privatize it.
That's reality.
Speaker 1: Without a doubt.
Guess what they will try to do.
Chris, I love the Declaration.
Incredibly powerful.
Did you have a question for me?
Speaker 2: Did I?
Well, the first question I asked you was, you know, are you an outdoor?
Are you involved in outdoor sporting activities like fishing, which you answered.
But I then I used my opportunity to, you know, maybe encourage people to, you know, get out
and start fishing, I guess.
All right.
Speaker 1: Well, that is a an activity among many, which I encourage the audience to consider.
Speaker 2: Thank you, David.
Speaker 1: All right, Chris from Massachusetts with a number of different items on the agenda.
Let's go next to your from the Philippines.
You're welcome.
Speaker 2: Oh.
Can you hear me?
Speaker 1: Yes, I can.
Speaker 2: Oh, I. I'm only using an earful, Mike.
So I think, I think my audio is going to be a little bit messed up for me from your part.
Speaker 1: Well, let's see what we welcome.
Speaker 2: Hello?
Hello?
Hello.
Um, so I don't really have a particular question in mind, but I'm sure you've heard that we
have a new president.
Yes, a very controversial one indeed.
Yeah, yeah, indeed.
Very much so.
Actually, I was a member here for a long time, actually, like last year.
And I was just kind of educating people on what they really want to know and what they
want to ask anything about the Philippines.
And so do you have anything to ask me?
Well, I remember things like I. Speaker 1: Said, or in a more rural part of
the Philippines.
Speaker 2: I live in the city.
You live in a city I live in?
Yeah.
Speaker 1: So is life in a city in the Philippines?
I don't know how much you've.
Have you traveled, for example, to Western Europe or the United States?
Speaker 2: I did travel to the United States once.
But how do.
Speaker 1: You think that life differs?
How does life differ in a city in the Philippines, in your opinion, from life in the United States?
Speaker 2: Hmm.
I wouldn't really call, like, the life that I had because I was only there for, like,
a couple of weeks.
But I could say that.
I could say that it's much slower in the United States, whereas in here.
Well, I wouldn't really say slower because I've been in California and I think New York
is way faster.
But in in like in California, it's like it's kind of down it's turned down a bit like when
it comes to pace.
But when it comes to like here in the Philippines, especially when you're like in the like mean
like not really the main streets, but in like the depths of the city, you can really feel
like the speed and the things are the things that are going on there.
So.
Yeah.
Mhm.
Speaker 1: How would you, what's the relationship like with the police where you are.
Is it generally speaking people have a trusting relationship with the police.
Like I'll give you an example in Argentina for a very long period of time, like if you
were going to be away for two weeks, you wouldn't let the police know so that they would watch
your place because you would be worried the police would break into your place.
Whereas in many places in the United States, if you're going to be away for a couple of
weeks, you call the police and can you guys keep an eye on my house because I'm not going
to be here.
What's the relationship like with the police where you are?
Speaker 2: It.
Yeah, it has a little bit of a trusting effect because especially during the year like the
Rodrigo or the Thirties time.
Yeah.
When he was still the president, especially at that time, people didn't trust them.
And now at least, at least, at least now this time there's a little bit of a trusting effect,
especially when like, okay, it's a new guy, so maybe he will.
Like, it's not that it's officiated at the drug wars and it led to highly controversial
drug wars.
And it's yeah, but it seems that, you know, it's not reported as much anymore.
Like, like I don't really hear any issue anymore, like killing stuff like that.
I mean, do you hear anymore killings?
I mean, I don't know.
Speaker 1: Killings from the.
In the Philippines, you mean of.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Of the.
Speaker 1: No, I guess I'm not I don't I can't say I'm following it necessarily that closely,
but very interesting because.
Speaker 2: Yeah, because what I heard from that is that there was a very controversial
killing that even reached the United States.
It was like a student who was just dragged out by a drunk police officer.
Then he was killed like in front of a CCTV camera and the CCTV camera captured like the
police putting a bag of meth or I don't know what I think is cocaine.
Yeah.
Speaker 1: I would say.
Speaker 2: That that.
Speaker 1: Like, I didn't see that one going, but I very much appreciate the phone call.
Thank you.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Yeah, thanks.
All right.
Thanks for joining.
Speaker 1: Me from the Philippines.
Hope to hear from you again.