- 'Sup you beautiful bastards?
Welcome back to "The Philip DeFranco Show".
I'm still shooting from home.
I'm not a 100% ,
but before you feel too bad for me, my home's dope.
I resent having to leave my house most days.
So while I would rather not be in any pain whatsoever,
this is kind of a perk.
Also, for those that have been asking,
"What are the health problems?"
It turned out, I had diverticulitis, and a lot of you know
that I have PKD, polycystic kidney disease.
My cysts were bleeding and also, it wasn't impacting me then
but it may impact me in the future.
I got a kidney stone just on reserves.
That's a fun way to introduce the show.
Hey, welcome back.
Hit that like button.
Let's just jump into it.
You know, the first thing that we're gonna talk about today,
it's actually horrible news
for all you gator molesters watching right now,
which according to the YouTube stats is 40%.
Dear God.
But the bad news is that right now,
South Carolina is considering a bill that would allow fines
between $500 and $1,000 to be imposed
on people who quote, "Feed, entice or molest alligators".
But they get up significantly
from the $100 to $150 fine currently on the books.
Now to be clear, molest isn't necessarily sexual.
It just means touching or bothering them,
you filthy minded bastards.
And if you're like, "But why?",
well, the incident that motivated this legislation
was this video posted to Facebook in 2020,
showing folks at a mini golf course,
sitting on top of a restrained alligator and riding it
after a crew had removed it from a nearby retaining pond.
Which also, ultimately led
to the gator being euthanized under state policy.
And so the new bill, which also lays
out specific guidelines that contractors must follow
when capturing alligators,
passed unanimously in the State House,
and now awaits a vote in the Senate.
With representative Jeff Bradley, the bill's author, saying,
"This is what I think is, perhaps, a good example
of responsible government responding
to constituent requests."
And representative Bill Hickson adding,
"They don't want anyone to get hurt."
But also I do have to say, this feels like less of a crime
and more of you saying, "If you want to molest
the alligator, that's gonna cost you $1,000."
Yeah, it feels more like a fee than a fine.
But main point, y'all please stop molesting
all these gators.
And then, this is one of the more requested pieces of news.
We saw this over the weekend.
- Now, they say about America,
they say diversity is our strength, you know.
And I look at China and I look at Russia,
who can we give a round of applause for Russia?
(crowd cheers)
Yes.
- Putin! Putin! Putin!
- Absolutely.
Absolutely.
- All right, so that man who has been described by some
as a racist hot air balloon, is Nick Fuentez,
a white nationalist organizer and media figure
who first entered the public eye
when he attended the Unite the Right Rally
in Charlottesville.
And if you've ever heard the term "groyper",
it comes from him.
That's what he calls his fans, who like him,
believe that the mainstream Republican party
is not quite right enough and advocates for the preservation
of a so-called white European American identity and culture.
So to promote that goal in 2020,
he founded the America First Political Action Conference
or AFPAC, which you just saw clip of, and it's meant
to be the alternative to the more mainstream,
Conservative Political Action Conference or CPAC,
which also just wrapped up as well.
But a big thing is that this year a couple
of notable people showed up to AFPAC.
I'm talking about current elected Republican representatives
Marjorie Taylor Green and Paul Gosar.
This prompted a wave of criticism from the party
and top Republicans, such as Senate minority leader,
Mitch McConnell, and house minority leader,
Kevin McCarthy, with McConnell saying, "There's no place
in the Republican party for white supremacists
or antisemitism."
and McCarthy calling Quintez in the conference,
appalling and unacceptable but,
only saying that he would have a conversation
with Green and Gozar.
Even a Republican national committee chair,
Ronna McDaniel, calling white supremacy neo-Nazi hate speech
and bigotry, disgusting and vowing,
they would have no home in the Republican party,
but again, falling short of promising
to take any action whatsoever toward Green or Gozar,
just saying they would discuss it
at the next party meeting in August.
But still y'all, the bar is so low to call this out.
Even Chip Roy ,who notably is one
of the three house Republicans
who voted against an anti-lynching bill
that was passed yesterday,
he still called Fuentes an asshole.
Now, as far as Green, she later called the criticism
against her an attempt to cancel her,
and bashed what she called identity politics.
Also saying she wasn't aware of Nick Fuentez or his views
before going to speak at the event.
Though, later on Twitter, it seemed like she was trying
to equate her speaking to this group
as following the path of Jesus, writing in a thread,
"Jesus was a friend to sinners.
We are called to follow his example.
That's why I will continue to share my message
of unity family and faith in our great nation
to every corner in every group within America.
It doesn't matter if I'm speaking to Democrat union members
or 1200 young conservatives who feel cast aside
and marginalized by society."
You know, how Democrat union members and people
who went to a white nationalist conference are the same.
But also, you should really expect no action
from the Republican party on this.
And I say that because, Gosar,
he can't even use the excuse
that he wasn't aware of what this group's about.
He literally attended the same conference the last year.
So it was a little bit weird.
The Republicans are coming out
to denounce his attendance now,
when they did nothing before,
but I guess better late than never.
But also, that's assuming they do something
other than try to escape the 24 hour news cycle
on this story.
But of course with this story,
I'd love to know your thoughts on it.
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And then, one of the days that a lot
of people have been waiting for, but then, you know,
the whole rush has started a war for no reason thing.
The 2022 midterms officially kicked off today.
Oh God, elections again.
The primaries have now begun in Texas,
a state with some of the strictest voting laws
in the nation and a congressional map
that's being legally disputed, which I mean,
if that's not the most perfect place to start
off this fucking insane shit show,
I don't know what would be.
Because the voting law took effect just a few months
before the primaries.
Election officials had asked state lawmakers
to delay the starting date of the rules
to the next election, or even push back the primary,
but of course they refused.
And so the situation in Texas
has already been set up to be a mess.
Last month, we talked about how Texas rejected thousands
of mail-in ballots, an unprecedented amount.
But that's not the only way
that Republicans made it harder to vote.
The law also got rid of voting methods
that became popular during the pandemic,
especially among communities of color,
like drive-through voting.
There's also no longer 24 hour voting places,
which could make voting close to impossible
for people who can't take work off.
And at the exact same time
that Republicans are making it harder
for people of color to vote,
they are literally being sued by groups that say
that the new GOP drawn congressional maps discriminate
against racial and ethnic minorities.
Texas was the only state in the last census
to gain two new congressional seats
as a result of population growth,
that was almost entirely driven by people of color,
and specifically boosted by Latinos,
who now account for nearly 40% of the state's population.
But, many of the maps are some
of the most populous cities in metro areas,
including some that have Latino majorities,
do not reflect those population changes.
With Republicans instead, redrawing boundaries,
so they have majority white populations.
And the case against the boundaries isn't set to go
to trial until September.
So the congressional map will almost certainly still be
in place when voters cast their ballots in November.
And as far as what happens next,
we're gonna have to wait to see how this election shapes up
as returns start coming in later today and tomorrow.
But very notably here,
this election does have broader implications
for the rest of the country
because as Axios notes, it offers the first glimpse
at how the 2022 midterms will play out.
And specifically, Trump's role in the future
which faction of the Republican party voters will reward.
And whether overall turnout reflects voter enthusiasm
or apathy.
But, if I was a betting man, and I am,
I do believe that the Trump train is gonna be strong.
And historically, the party that lost power
in the election before, ends up gaining seats.
And I think that's what we're going to see.
And for the liberals that watch my show,
yes, still, even after everything.
And then finally today, of course we need to talk
about Russia and Ukraine again.
Lots of updates, starting off with the news
that Belarusian forces have now officially entered Ukraine.
Although that's not too surprising,
considering missiles have been fired from there,
and it was only a matter of time.
Then there's a situation around Kherson,
a major city that controls one of the largest crossings
for the river that splits Ukraine.
It has seen extreme Russian attacks
and is believed to be the hotspot for fighting right now.
Then in Harve, the country's second largest city
and the scene of constant Russian attacks,
the last 24 hours have been no different.
And it looks like Russia is becoming more
and more aggressive to try to get the city to submit
with footage showing worse and worse missile strikes,
although Ukraine still holds the city.
Then in Kyiv, it looks like Russian forces are aiming
to encircle the city and cutoff resupply from the west,
where that large 17 mile long Russian convoy
is now stretched out to approximately 40 miles long.
Though mostly, because they finally spread out rather
than sitting next to each other, like sitting ducks.
But it's believed that the convoy,
alongside 15,000 Russian troops,
are methodically working their way around the city,
leaving many with fears of a prolonged siege
and street fighting that could kill many civilians.
However, it hasn't just been Russian attack
after Russian attack.
There are reports that Ukraine has hit a Russian airfield
with its own missile.
Ukraine continues to grow its fighting force
with tens of thousands of Ukrainians returning home
to fight.
Many foreigners taking up its offer to fight.
Russia is also reportedly dealing with a lot of desertions,
which may or may not be bolstered
by the Ukrainian offer to pay Russian soldiers
who surrender 5 million rubles,
or it might be connected
to reports of even more indiscriminate Russian attacks
on civilians and non-military infrastructure.
Which actually on that note,
the International Criminal Court
is answering Ukrainian calls
to look into possible Russian war crimes,
especially over reports
that it's deliberately targeting civilians.
Also, with all that, it's not surprising to hear
that in just five days,
it's estimated that 660,000 Ukrainians have fled the country
with many more still trying to make their way out.
And neighboring countries have largely suspended the rules
for crossing the border to make it easier for refugees.
And all of this has led
to major traffic jams of border crossing.
You know, this unjustified invasion
and the increased violence in Ukraine,
it's led to even further isolation
for Russia on the international states.
For example, we saw a diplomat,
snubbing Russian foreign minister Lavrov
by walking out while he was speaking at the UN council
on human rights this morning.
With pretty much, the ones left being
from Syria, Venezuela, and China, you know,
champions of human rights across the globe.
And on top of that,
we're saying the strict sanctions continue to work
on crippling Russia's economy
and crashing the value of the rubel.
In fact, it's been so bad,
it led to Russia closing its stock markets
until at least March 5th.
Alongside, directives that Russians aren't even allowed
to transfer their money to foreign banks
in an effort to heat money circulating within Russia.
The sanctions are also having secondary effects,
like leading many companies to effectively stop their work
with Russia, which has led to instances like Russians
in Moscow, who went to take the Metro and realizing, oh
Apple Pay and Google Pay no longer worked then leading
to a ton of people scrambling to get cash.
Also leading to some companies just boycotting the place.
Maersk, one of the largest shipping companies
in the world, announcing they wouldn't work
with Russia anymore.
We also saw UPS and FedEx enacting similar plans.
Now not all the restrictions that have been isolated
to people in Russia.
Some Russian media outlets,
especially Russia Today, have essentially been blocked
by multiple platforms.
Microsoft removed its apps while YouTube announced
that in Europe, it will block channels linked
to Russia today, alongside Sputnik,
another state owned outlet.
With the same game plan being carried
out by Roku, TikTok and Facebook.
This even extended to more traditional outlets,
such as Direct TV, which is plans to drop RT.
We may even see
more outlets drop Russian state media platform
as The National Association
of Broadcasters asked US broadcasters to,
quote, "Cease carrying any state-sponsored programming
with ties to the Russian government or it's agents."
Also in the entertainment space,
Netflix decided did not work with Russian regulations
that required at least 20 state owned channels
to be put on their platform.
Meaning that Netflix is likely going
to be shut down in Russia.
Several studios are also pulling films
from theatrical releases in Russia,
with Disney actually releasing a statement saying,
"Given the unprovoked invasion
of Ukraine in the tragic humanitarian crisis,
we are pausing the release of theatrical films in Russia.
We will make future business decisions based
on the evolving situation."
And because we don't know the timeline
and things are unclear right now,
that boycott might affect movies
like "Dr. Strange" and "Lightyear".
Disney is not alone here.
Other studios have followed their lead,
with Warner Bros pulling the Robert Pattinson,
Zoe Kravitz "The Batman" film from Russia,
with Sony and Paramount making similar moves as well.
But then finally with this story today,
I wanna end by talking about president Zelensky.
He's still in Kyiv, he's trying
to make things happen for Ukraine.
Yesterday we talked about him signing Ukraine up
for the European Union.
And well, they actually accepted his application,
which is a solid first step to actually joining the block.
And then the speech to the European parliament, he said,
- (speaking in foreign language)
- With that receiving a standing ovation from the delegates
and actually leading to a viral moment
where the Ukrainian German interpreter broke down in tears
and couldn't finish, having to apologize to viewers.
And in a quick update, right as we were finishing recording,
right after this speech, the European parliament
even voted to recommend Ukraine's admission to the EU,
which is another big step, but keep in mind,
there are still many, many, many many more steps
that would have to happen before Ukraine officially joins.
That is, assuming the EU doesn't carve
out special rules to speed up this process.
But ultimately, where I'll leave this story,
it's on two fronts.
If you wanna stay as up to date on this story as possible,
make sure you follow us over on TikTok.
A million people have joined us in the past month.
We've been putting out several videos a day,
even on non PDS days.
And secondly, to the people in Ukraine, I've seen a ton
of comments from people in Ukraine saying, you know
it's really making a difference
in helping our audience understand what's going on there.
We see you. We hear you.
We love you and support you.
And it's once again, the reason I'll include resources
down below for anyone that wants to help as well.
But ultimately, that is where that story
and today's show ends.
Of course, whether it be this story
or anything else stood out to you today,
I'd love to know your thoughts on those comments down below.
Let's close it out together.
My name's Philip De Franco.
You've just been filled in.
I love your faces and I'll see you tomorrow.