- 'Sup, you beautiful bastards?
Welcome back to "The Philip DeFranco Show."
Buckle up. Make sure you hit that Subscribe button.
Otherwise, I will punch you in the throat,
and let's just jump into it. (air whooshing)
Please do not watching "Hocus Pocus 2."
That is what one Texas mom, Jamie Gooch,
is screaming from the rafters.
- It grieves me, the thought
of exposing our kids to darkness.
A worst-case scenario is that you unleash hell.
The whole movie is based on witches harvesting children
for blood sacrifices.
I believe whatever comes in our TV screens,
there are things attached to that.
I have seen for myself the things that I've watched
with my eyes or heard over a TV screen,
they become manifested in real life.
Everybody thinks it's fake and innocent,
but they could be casting any type of spell
that they want to.
Anything could be coming through that TV screen
into your home.
At the end of the day, I want people
to walk away with discernment.
If you're watching this, just start thinking.
Start thinking for yourself, and even overthink.
- (laughs) Mama Gooch, what you doing?
I know we're always like, "But think of the children,"
but maybe Jamie Gooch could not.
The Goochmeister, I think, can sit this one out.
Also, this is someone who is raising children,
a person who felt not only confident enough
to post something on Facebook, but go on local television
to be like, "Yes, the Disney Plus movie is casting
demonic spells directly into your children's eye holes."
I, (laughs) anyway, that's the story.
That person has the same vote as you,
just so, that's a fun thing.
Moving on, and then robots are going to kill us.
Are we on the same page here?
The only way robots don't kill us is if we do it first
or like an asteroid hits us, (planet exploding)
because remember those fun little robots,
and they were like, "Oh, it kinda looks like a dog.
Oh, look, it's dancing"?
Well, like with every tech advancement,
people looked at it, and they were like,
"But how do we get it to kill and/or harass poor people?"
Though that's not fair; not just poor people,
but probably poor people first.
Right, I mean, since those early days,
we've seen things like this new viral video
showing a Chinese drone carrying something underneath it
and dropping it off on a rooftop,
with that strange object then unfurling,
and what in the, that's a robot dog with a machine gun.
I'm telling you, it's just a matter of time.
Hug your children, but yeah, that video was posted
to Weibo recently by the China Kestrel Defense Company,
and as the caption explains, "The war dog can be inserted
behind enemy lines for a surprise attack,
placed on rooftops to occupy the commanding heights,
or support a three-dimensional pincer attack on a building."
Right, in China, they put loudspeakers on these robot dogs
to tell people, "Hey, wash your hands.
Wear masks," and now, machine guns.
- Well, that's just stupid.
- China also isn't the only country
to produce videos like this.
Some months ago, we had a Russian tech entrepreneur
showing off a robot dog, popping off targets
with a submachine gun.
Also, just to really hit it directly on the nose,
he nicknamed it Skynet, and if you're looking at this,
and you're like, "Yeah, they do look a lot
like the Boston Dynamics robots that we saw dancing
to "Uptown Funk" a few years ago,
they are similar but not the same.
In fact, last week, the company signed an open letter
with five other robotics makers, pledging not to weaponize
the hardware or software behind their advanced mobility
general purpose robots, basically reaffirming a commitment
that it made a long time ago, but that also didn't stop
the French military from using it in reconnaissance drills
last year, nor did it stop the NYPD
from deploying them to respond to a home invasion
and enter a public housing building during the pandemic,
where actually, in that case, there was backlash
from residents pressuring the city police
to end the contract, with AOC, who represents a district
in New York, tweeting, "Please ask yourself:
when was the last time you saw next-generation,
world class technology for education,
healthcare, housing, et cetera, consistently prioritized
for underserved communities like this?"
But also, that's just one police force.
Several other law enforcement agencies have tested
or actually deployed robot dogs, including border patrol
and police in Massachusetts, Honolulu, Singapore,
and the Netherlands, plus at least one American company,
Ghost Robotics, is flirting with arming these puppies,
last year, showcasing their gun-mounted robo-dog
at the Association of the United States Army's
annual conference, and that same dog, though,
without the firearm, was put on a patrol duty
at an Air Force base in Florida the year before,
and here's one of the key things to take away:
while governments seem to be embracing this technology
in some capacity, the weaponization of it
is lagging behind, but that's probably not going to last
because it's only a matter of time until some country,
let's say China, releases a video of its military
with one of these, and then someone at the Pentagon's
gonna go, "Hey, why the fuck don't we?
We gotta kill their robot dogs with our robot dogs,
or maybe better yet, robot dinosaurs.
Why the fuck not?"
- What's going on with you?
What are you talking about?
- And then, bing, bang, boom, robot wars, obviously,
and then the political fallout in LA right now is wild.
If you didn't see, audio of City Council President
Nury Martinez making racist remarks was leaked.
The audio's from October 2021, and it captures a moment
where Martinez and other Latino councilmembers
were venting their frustrations
at a proposed redistricting map.
It seems like they didn't realize
that they were being recorded, and during this meeting,
Martinez criticized white councilmember Mike Bonin
as, "A little bitch," and claimed that he treated
his Black son like an accessory, and then saying.
- [Nury] (speaking Spanish) has no, he's, they're not even,
yeah, no, the kid's bouncing off the effing walls
on the float, practically tipping it over.
There's nothing you can do to control him. (speaks Spanish)
- I didn't know this initially
because I guess I just didn't get to that part of Duolingo,
but that last part was a very big deal
because it means, "He looks like a monkey,"
although some might try to give Martinez the benefit
of the doubt and point out that in this context,
it could also mean he seemed/acted like a monkey
in reference to how the boy allegedly acted,
but also, unless there's a cultural difference I'm missing
in the language, I can't see how that's better,
but also, you generally do not get the benefit
of the doubt when that's just the tip of the racist iceberg,
because when talking about Los Angeles County
District Attorney George Gascon, Martinez said,
"Fuck that guy; he's with the Blacks."
Martinez didn't just save these things for her colleagues,
but also for Los Angeles voters.
When speaking about Koreatown residents,
where much of the population are mixed indigenous peoples
from Oaxaca in Central America, she perpetuated stereotypes
about the group in this exchange
with councilmember Gil Cedillo.
- [Nury] I see a lotta little short, dark people.
- [Gil] Yeah, Oaxacan, Oaxacan Korean.
(Nury laughing) - She then went on
to question how they got here and described them
as so ugly, and a key thing here
is it wasn't just Martinez being derogatory.
Councilmember Kevin de Leon also criticized
how Bonin allegedly treats his son
by claiming that he uses the boy like a Louis Vuitton bag,
and this whole incident has provided a window
into kinda how the sausage is made in politics
and has left many residents understandably pissed,
and so we ended up seeing widespread calls for Martinez
to resign, and she actually announced her resignation
yesterday, but only as the president of the LA City Council.
In a statement apologizing for her remarks
and adding that, "As someone who believes deeply
in the empowerment of communities of color,
I recognize my comments undercut that goal,"
but still, for many, it wasn't enough,
and they are demanding that she completely step down
from office, and of course,
with this being a developing situation,
just as I was recording today, we learned
that she will now be taking a leave of absence,
but again, for many, that's still short
of fully resigning, and as for the others
that were present there, there were concerns
that not only did they not call out her comments instantly,
but in de Leon's and LA County Federation
of Labor President Ron Herrera's case actually participated,
leading them to also issue apologies for the situation,
and Herrera has actually now resigned,
and de Leon may follow his lead 'cause based on this video,
he's really not wanted anymore.
- Get outta here, Kevin! (gavel pounding)
Get the (beep) out! (beep) you!
Resign! Resign, you racist piece of (beep).
- [Attendee] You don't represent Los Angeles, Kevin!
- There's also been organizations using the situation
as a chance for Latinos to be introspective
about their own colorism and racism,
whereas others, like the LA County Federation of Labor
pulled a kind of a Reverse Uno
and were furious that a recording was taken at all,
saying it was, "In violation of California's
privacy and recording laws on LA County Federation
of Labor property," and warned that reposting it,
"is condoning this illegal conduct,"
but also, the fucking cat's outta the bag here,
and reporting on the recordings
is not "condoning this illegal conduct."
Otherwise, no leaks would ever be reportable,
you fucking idiot. (laughs)
Sorry, I don't know why I got so fucking heated.
Either way, with the elections just around the corner,
it is likely that they could have serious consequences
for the LA political scene, and as far
as what the full fallout to this situation will look like,
we're gonna have to wait and see,
and until we see more, of course, I'd love to know
your thoughts on this, and then, now, when we moved,
we got overwhelmed with all the boxes of old pictures
and VHS tapes that we collected over the years,
and yes, VHSs.
My dad used to give me a few bucks
to organize the closet of 'em.
You know, there's so much collected over the years,
and I'm like, "There's some really great memories here."
Most I hadn't seen in decades, and the memories
that I wanna share with my family for generations,
and I know I'm not alone here,
so I think it's a great time to thank a fantastic sponsor
of today's show: Legacybox.
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footage of our wedding and our family growing together,
capturing all the family vacations,
the milestones, the graduations, the first dances
all in one place because I will say,
especially as a parent, I don't know where time goes
both for myself, but also, it feels like with kids,
they're different people every two years.
When I get a chance to look back,
I can't help but smile, and sadly, I know people
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You don't have to just let your photos fade away.
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That's LegacyBox.com/DeFranco,
and then, you've also got Kanye staying in the news
right now, some of which unsurprisingly connected
to his antisemitic comments he made recently,
people sharing this now-viral clip
of actress Jamie Lee Curtis responding to Kanye's remarks
on the "Today" show.
- I burst into tears.
I woke up and burst into tears.
DEFCON 3 on Jewish people?
What are you doing?
I woke up and thought, "My grandparents."
- [Hoda] Yeah. Yeah.
(hands smacking)
- It's just abhorrent. - Yeah.
- It's abhorrent behavior. I hope he gets help.
- You also had the Holocaust Museum of Los Angeles
posting a statement inviting Kanye over to discuss
why what he said was so dangerous,
saying, "Words matter, and words have consequences, Ye.
The Holocaust started with only words and sadly begat
stereotypes, racial and religious tropes, and blaming others
and led to the murder of six million Jews.
Your words reach millions, and you can choose to incite,
or you can choose to inspire."
Also regarding the power of words,
some of the words that Kanye shared
affecting something more at home,
with reports coming out that Kim Kardashian
is now reportedly paying for increased security
at their kids' school, though not because Kanye poses
a specific threat himself, but rather
because he posted the name of their school on social media
amid his recent rants, and so now that the public
has access to that information, people are worried.
People are saying there is an increased risk
not just for Kim and Kanye's kids,
but for every other student and teacher at that school.
Right, are you gonna have random weirdos showing up
at this school, and it's why so many people
are going, "Why is Kanye gonna just get away with this,
basically doxxing his children and their classmates,
people saying he's just actively endangering them.
He's doing all this for no reason,
though some have said, "While it could be
just complete chaos in Kanye," this could also potentially
be something that Kanye wants for the kids
not to feel OK there because one of the complaints
that he has is he wants his kids to attend Donda Academy,
a non-accredited, private school that he started,
which is why you had some saying it looks
like he's adding pressure to the situation
to try and get what he wants,
and yeah, that's the situation.
I got nothing new to say on this.
This has been Kanye, and I just love the fact
there's still people out there like, "I can't believe
Kanye's doing this."
Really? You can't? Okay.
Also, wild to me that the antisemitic garbage coming
out of this face right now,
still not a line too far for some,
and then, TikTok doesn't just want your time.
It wants all of your money because according to a new report
from Axios, they're trying to become the next Amazon,
with TikTok looking to build global fulfillment centers
in Seattle and Los Angeles.
Also, more than a dozen LinkedIn job postings
have been found for TikTok for positions
like Operations Research Engineer
and Logistics Solution Manager,
and according to the listing, TikTok plans
on providing, "Warehousing, delivery,
and returns for merchants to ensure the fast
and sustainable growth of TikTok Shop,"
and honestly, this is an expected evolution
is you look to what's happening in China,
and then you look back here, and you see TikTok's
been moving towards ecommerce for a while.
It has an active relationship with Shopify,
a potential partnership with "TalkShopLive"
for live shopping in the US, and while the platform's
live shopping feature is popular in Asia,
it's not seeing the same interest in the UK and the US,
but I really think that it's just a matter of time
till it pops off here, at which time,
yeah, if nothing else changes,
this could be a potential threat to Amazon,
especially because according to Axios,
TikTok seems to be developing a free return program
like Amazon, though at this time,
it doesn't look like it's gonna be building out
its own form of ground transportation.
So is it a threat to Amazon? Yes.
Is it going to replace Amazon? No.
Is it going to dent it?
I think so, at least if they do it right,
and then the midterms are next month,
and you can't vote if you don't register by today
in 10 states, so if you watching live
in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana,
Kentucky, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas
and you haven't registered, do it literally now.
Also, if you think you're registered or are not,
go here and check because there are actually
a number of people every year that are like, "What?
Thought I was. I got kicked off of voter rolls."
Something, and while these other 20 states
do allow same-day registration,
it's actually already too late for some.
Right, in Alaska, Mississippi, and Rhode Island,
it's already too late to register,
and if you haven't seen your state yet,
that's because there's about a dozen other states
that have deadlines before the end of this month,
in fact, even some by the end of this week,
so definitely go click that link in the description.
Also, I'm not gonna shame you for waiting
till the last minute because this is embarrassing.
There's this nonprofit group out there, HeadCount,
that's trying to boost voter turnout and registration.
They work with tons of celebrities.
They actually offered to pay for a prize of my choosing
that could go to one lucky beautiful bastard
that just went to their site to make sure
that they were registered, and I just
didn't contact them back 'cause I'm a dumb fuckhead,
but luckily, they also reached out to other celebrities
who had the decency or at least people around them
to contact them back, including the likes of Billie Eilish,
who partnered with the organization to get fans attending
her concerts this summer registered,
with her issuing a statement encouraging everyone
to use their voices and adding, adding,
"With what's going on in our country, we need to get
out to the polls and vote for what we believe in.
Not showing up is not an option,"
and this isn't a new thing for the org.
Before he went around hitting people with heavy machinery,
they teamed up with David Dobrik,
who gave away Teslas.
This year, they also worked with other creators
like MatPat and Harry Styles.
That's right, Mat, you're both equals.
That's why I used you both in the same sentence.
Though Harry's incentivizing his fans
to register and check their registration status
by giving them a chance to win tickets to Harryween,
and hey, since I'm the asshole who didn't contact them back,
and I can't get the glory of saying,
"I signed up this number of people,"
my recommendation would be either to register
or check your registration.
Go to HeadCount.org, ideally using my specific link
in the description down below to give credit
to the beautiful bastard that tried to loop me in,
and who knows, maybe it'll still track,
and it'll give me something to potentially give away
to one lucky bastard, but also either way,
at the very least, you will know that you're prepped
and registered to vote and be a part of the world,
and vote into existence the world you wanna see,
or at least try 'cause really, that's all we get to do
in this life, and some in other places
don't even get that privilege, and here's the thing:
movements like this, apparently, are very effective.
With HeadCount's co-founder
Andy Bernstein telling reporters,
"In 2020, 78% of the people that HeadCount registered
turned out to vote, so we know these artist partnerships
are effective," and also adding that the organization
has already reached a new record high of registered voters
for a midterm election this year, clocking a total
of 150,000, which is huge because the previous record
was 89,000, but ultimately, that is where that story
and today's show ends.
As always, thank you for watching, liking,
subscribing to my daily dives into the news.
You can also keep getting your news fix here,
but no matter what, my name's Philip DeFranco.
You've just been filled in.
I love yo faces, and I'll see you tomorrow.