Classified Farce

Check out monorail.com, America's affordable investment app made for conservatives who want to keep their hard-earned money with companies that share their values. Download the Monorail app today. Join Monorail. Okay, hi everybody, Dennis Prager here. And I'm smiling because technical issues in life, it's really a paradigm for life, my friends, that you've got to get every detail right in life. Life, what is it? The devil is in the details. Actually, God is in the details. I wonder if anybody has put it that way. I don't know why the devil is in the details. Anyway, welcome to the show. I'm in Miami, Florida for the next week. And I'm here because I am with Jordan Peterson and the Daily Wire people. And we are going to be recording part 2, 8 sessions, 2 hours each, on the Book of Exodus. Jordan Peterson has been throughout his life a professor of psychology and a major one at University of Toronto. And I believe it is fair to say he has led a secular life his entire life. He affirmed no religion. I have no idea if he believed in a God. He may well have, but it was a secular life. And he has concluded, as I have said all of my life, that secularism is a moral and intellectual dead end. It is not religious people who say men give birth. It is secular people. Now, there are some people who claim to be religious who say men give birth, but they have simply taken on secular values and called them Christian or Jewish. But the, uh, the traditional believers in Christianity and Judaism don't say men give birth or any of the other absurdities of our time. Of which there are many. So if you don't realize that the whole issue ultimately revolves around whether or not the society takes the Bible seriously, that's what it amounts to. You don't understand what is going on in the world. The world just seems absurd and awful, but you don't know why. And now you know why. Anyway, that's why I'm here in Miami. And these are sessions with the 7 of us. 6 plus Jordan, and it is, uh, something you would want to watch. It's available at The Daily Wire. So they found more classified documents at Joe Biden's home, and, uh, the— they're stuck. There's a sort of stuck because it was very recently that Joe Biden, uh, The least honorable man to ever hold the office of president, in my opinion. I know many of you think it is Donald Trump. Donald Trump is, is saintly compared to Joe Biden because Donald Trump at least believes that the country is more important than he is. Joe Biden does not believe anything is more important than he is. Anything. So that, that's a huge moral distinction. Anyway, he said, uh, what a, what a, uh, catastrophe it was for national security, how it endangered national security, uh, finding classified documents in Mar-a-Lago. And now they have found more and more at his home. So, uh, they, they have no way out. I mean, you can't say those classified documents were really endangering American security, but my classified documents at home don't endanger American security. Now, as far as I'm concerned, I don't think that either one is a major endangerment of American security unless I know what is in the classified documents. There are so many classified documents that I don't know. But if, if the principle is you, you've taken from the White House classified documents, then it holds true for Democrats as well as Republicans. So they, they really have no way out, to the best of my knowledge. But there might be a way out because the press will protect them. Uh, the, the standard press or the mainstream media are to the Democratic Party what Pravda and Izvestia were to the Communist Party. Technically, Izvestia was a government paper and Pravda was the party paper, but there's no— there was no distinction, just as there's no distinction today between the Democratic Party and the government. So that is the way in which they are in some, in some trouble. On another matter, I was so relieved when the Republican House rescinded the order to spend tens of billions of dollars on a staggering number of new IRS agents. Because theoretically the super rich and corporations get away with not paying their, quote, fair share. This is just a lie. Everybody knows that with that number of agents, in order to justify, if only for that, just to justify their being hired and their salaries, they will have to get middle-class people as well. So that Americans buy this stuff, oh, we're just going to stick it to the super wealthy, is very sad. There's not much to say that Americans bought the line that the Democrats are really protecting middle class Joe. Middle class Joe is ruined by the left. You could have gone to Target and CVS and other gigantic stores during the lockdowns, but you couldn't go to middle-class Joe's hardware store. And yet, and yet the middle class voted for the Democrats, not as much as the super rich and the poor. They tend to vote Democrat, the really poor, because they think they'll get more money from the Democrats. And they might. What they don't get is more jobs from the Democrats. So a poor person has a very simple question to ask. If they're, if the Democrats are in power, what do I get? And if the Republicans are in power, what do I get? And the answer is, in the former, you get more handouts to further ensure that you stay poor because you The only way to get out of poverty is to make money and not to get money for free. The only way out of poverty is to make money. And the Republicans enable you to make money. What is it? I don't know the phrase, but I know the gist of it about you can either teach a man how to fish or you can give him fish. If you teach him how to fish, you'll never have to give him fish. But remember, if you don't have to give people something, then it renders you unimportant. The more people getting government funds, the more votes for the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party wants more people to to get charity from the government. That way they are more dependent upon the government. It's so obvious what I'm saying that it's one of those moments that I've had throughout my radio career of, I can't believe I'm being paid to say the obvious. Well, listen, I'm being paid to say that there are only men and women. There are only two sexes in the human species. So if I'm, if I'm being paid to say that, This is advanced calculus compared to that. That the Democratic Party wants you to be dependent upon the government is a given because then they have your vote. Indeed, they have you. So, The poor have a question to ask themselves. Do you want a handout or do you want a job? I think if the Republican Party were ideologically aggressive, that would be a perfect example of a billboard, of a TV ad to put up. If you want free things, vote Democrat. If you want a job and dignity, vote Republican. Not, not, not bad, eh? That's a, uh, that would be good. I, I think we should, we should put that down. I've never quite articulated it that way, but that's the way it is. I'm a big believer in dignity, and there's very little dignity in getting handouts. 1-800-776-877-243-7776. Back in a moment. I'd like to introduce you to Monorail, America's investment app that takes you from where you are to where you want to be. Monorail is an investment and savings app that is made for patriots by patriots. Doesn't matter whether you're an Apple fan or if you prefer Android, Monorail is available in both environments and online at monorail.com. Monorail is safer for users with bank-level encryption and biometrics. Your money is protected with Monorail through Securities Investor Protection Corporation and the FDIC. No matter how you engage with Monorail, you're getting the security and safety that you need, whether you're adding funds to your investment account, looking to buy a stock, or putting money aside for future purchases. With Monorail, you can put your money where it matters and utilize the economic power that built this country. Don't go somewhere else to trade stocks. Monorail gives you the freedom to purchase whole or fractional shares in companies you believe in. It only takes 5 minutes to download the app and set up. Join the pro-America money movement. Join Monorail. Hi everybody, Dennis Prager here. Making the case here about why people should vote Republican. It gives you dignity. And I never put it that way before, the dignity issue. I got the phrase, by the way, sent to me by my trusty wife. The actual phrase is, if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. But if people feed themselves for a lifetime, they don't vote for the people who will give them fish. Human beings want to be given things for free more than they want liberty, more than they want— I'll put it poetically— more than they want to be free. They want things for free more than they want to be free. When you take things for free, you are not free. Just everyone knows that when you think about it. You are ultimately controlled by the person who gives you the free fish. And that's what they want. They want to control us. Everything that gives you independence, everything that lets you lead a happy life without government intervention, the left loathes you for. The latest is gas stoves. Yes, didn't you know that? Gas stoves were just ruining it for people. The story out of New York State, Governor Hochul apparently sneaked it into some bill without people knowing it, and New York State will be banning the use of gas ovens. And so the industry of chefs said, this ends our ability to be chefs. In restaurants in New York State. We can't make meals on an electric stove. We need fire. We need a gas stove. So it will further chase out the entrepreneur known as the chef and the middle-class business owner who owns a restaurant. In the final analysis, it would be fine with the hokals and the Democrats if they owned the restaurants. I know this sounds far-fetched. There is no such thing as far-fetched when it comes to the left. When I was in the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War, so when I speak Russian, so obviously I read Russian, and there was no such thing as Mike's Restaurant. If you wanted to go to a restaurant when I was in the Soviet Union, You would just see a sign, restaurant. That's the Russian for restaurant. And that was it. There was no proper noun. It was not Dimitri's restaurant. There was no such thing. And when you went in, there was a menu, but there was almost nothing on the menu available at the restaurant. And you would not get served. I don't know if I've retold this on my radio show about what it was like to go into a Soviet restaurant. There were very few, but they existed. And if you would go in, you would be given, or you would have a piece of paper inside a plastic. That was the menu. And then you would wait about a half hour till one of the waiters walked over to you. They would, and what were they doing? I remember in most restaurants I was the only person there. And what were they doing? After all, you would think with no other patrons, they could just rush over to you and you would be served, or at least your order would be taken within minutes. But it was about a half hour. And what they would do is they would just stand on the other side of the restaurant talking to each other. And of course, I knew why this was happening. There was no such thing as tipping. They would get paid whether or not they did a good job. You couldn't be fired. Excellence wasn't demanded. Mediocrity was the norm. So I actually would bring books Not just newspapers, which I always would bring to restaurants in the West as well as in the communism. I brought books. That's that in the final analysis is where we're headed. And of course, this is laughed at. People would have laughed at the idea that children would be taken to drag queen story hours in kindergarten 10 years ago. People would have laughed that you can't say boys and girls in schools. That Disney would drop boys and girls, that the pirate scene would not have the pirates chasing the woman because it was sexist. People would have laughed at everything that the left has done. Nothing is laughable. So don't laugh at the idea that in the final analysis, government-run restaurants would be idyllic. How are chefs going to prepare food? That's their argument now to to Hochul and the Democrats in New York State. Kids are getting asthma? Have ventilation. Or if your kid gets asthma from it, test it out. Stop using the gas stove and see if your kid's asthma improves. That's what human beings do. If something hurts a human being, you stop doing it. You don't ban it for the 90% of humans or 95% for whom it has no effect. This is where we are at. You know, I'm still wondering about the, I was going to say lockdown of all the airlines that the United States engaged in under this giant Pete Buttigieg. And he explained why out of an abundance of caution, because of the glitch in the software. And so there were no flights in the United States. I don't know how long, how many hours, or was it a day? I don't know. But obviously it ruined things for tens of thousands of people. And he said, why? We shut down all flights in America. Out of an abundance of caution because he doesn't have any idea what the system that went down is. He doesn't know that pilots were still able to be contacted. The pilots are furious that this was done. And here's the corker: Canada had the same glitch and didn't cancel its flights. Joe Biden may well be to the left of Justin Trudeau. Back in a moment. The Dennis Prager Show. There's a lot of talk about the Great Reset and digital currencies. The U.S. government has been floating the idea of a digital dollar for quite some time, opening up the door to the government controlling your bank account, or worse yet, freezing your money. They did that in Canada, remember? This is Dennis Prager for AmFed Coin and Bullion, and for my friend Nick Grovich. Now more than ever in this woke world, it's important to own tangible assets like gold and silver. Owning physical gold and silver gives you control over your wealth. They're proven, stable commodities that have held their value over time, beyond the overarching reach of government. And it's so important you do business with a trustworthy and transparent company like Ampfed Coin and Bullion. Ampfed's owner, Nick, and his experienced team will always provide you with honest, sound advice. No pressure sales. Moving a portion of your wealth into precious metals is a prudent decision. Call Ampfed Coin and Bullion. 800-221-7694. AmericanFederal.com. AmericanFederal.com. All right, everybody, welcome back. Dennis Prager here and working on further setting up from the remote, as I explained to you that I am in Miami. Yes, so I can't hear your calls right now. I can read them. We're working on having that. This is the first time in a remote that we have these issues, and I don't know why. Talk about not having freedom. I don't have technical freedom. I am in the hands of others. Frank in Los Angeles loves the idea about that billboard. Where can you donate? I don't have an answer to where you can donate. And we can't do that at PragerU. We can buy billboards with messages, but we can't do a Republican or Democrat message because we're a 501(c)(3). And we don't, we can't push, as far as I know, for a party. We can push ideas, but we, not overt political, but I will put it out there and I'm sure that there are people who could raise the funds to do that. Vote Democrat if you want things for free and vote Republican if you want dignity. The dignity of your, of having a job. We, they give you things, we give you jobs. The question is how many people in the United States would prefer free things to a job? Don't think that if the billboard were up, everybody would say, Oh, now I get it. Now I get the big difference between Republican and Democrat. Many might say, oh, I get the difference. And frankly, I much rather have free money than a job. By the way, that is obviously true even for the non-poor. During COVID when people were given handouts and then the jobs would welcome them back, they preferred to get the free money and stay home. This, these were, these were not poor people, many of them young people. Oh, I can get money and stay home, why would I work? So the, the notion, and it's one I, I would find your responses interesting, would your kid respond positively to that message? I'm not sure. If you could have free things, hey kid, you who just graduated college where I shelled out $300,000 or more. Let's see, what's 4 into, uh, let's see, 4 times 50 is $200,000. Let's say $200,000. Oh, by the way, after tax. It's not a write-off. So that's a lot of money. And still, I believe a lot would say, oh yeah, if I could get a half or two-thirds, certainly, of what I would earn by working, I'll stay home. This is the— the human being is a problematic thing. Dignity, to be told what kind of car you drive, to be told what type of oven you can use in your house, to be told that you have to keep your house at a certain temperature. Isn't there a point where people think, you know what, I, I I'm not living my own life. I'm not being allowed to control my own life. Doesn't that bother people? And it depends on your nature. My nature is I don't like to be told how to live except by God. And I'm quite literally speaking. God is above me. But I don't regard humans as above me. Now, there have to be laws in a society, I fully recognize, but the fewer the laws, the better it is. The giants, and they were all giants, who founded the United States of America, they understood that. These people did not want a government to tell them what to do. The purpose of government was the opposite when America was founded in 1776, not 1619, Pache, the New York Times. It was the opposite. The purpose of government was to protect your freedom. And that is, uh, that is a very big lesson in what the difference is in our time. All right, everybody, we are— I want to tell you about a product, Eden Pure. Eden as in Garden of Eden. Eden Pure Thunderstorm. I have it in my, uh, in my house, in my study, in which I smoke my cigars. It's fantastic. And it's, uh, you— it's quite, uh, quite reasonable. You would think something this powerful. So I just want you to know, you get 3 units for under $200. You could put them in 3 different rooms anywhere— your bedroom, basement, where the cat pees, anywhere. Go to EdenPureDeals.com, discount Prager3 to save $200. Eden puredeals.com. MyPillow is excited to bring you their biggest bedding sale ever, and just in time for Christmas. For a limited time, get the Giza Dream bedsheets for as low as $29.98, a set of pillowcases for only $9.98, and rejuvenate your bed with a MyPillow mattress topper for as low as $99.99. They also have blankets in a variety of sizes, colors, and styles. 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These people lie with the ease with which you breathe. Yep, that's it. The only reason for the spike in prices in California is because it was freezing in Buffalo. Get it? That's right. And it's very uncommon for it to be that cold in Buffalo. I can't believe that happened with global warming. How could there be so many cold places? We swim in a sea of lies. It's very simple, folks. We have enough natural gas in this country for your price to be completely reasonable for your energy. The damn despicable, sick, bored, affluent environmentalists are ruining everything. Everything. These are bad people who think they are angelic. That's the worst. It's better when bad people think they're bad, like the cartels. I don't think they think they're good. But the environmentalists— and I'm not comparing them to the cartels because they're not murdering people like cartels do. They're slaughtering society, but they're not murdering people. This country was doing great under Donald Trump. It has nothing to do with whether you like or dislike Donald Trump. I have no interest in Donald Trump the man. I have interest in the United States of America when he was president, or for that matter, Any Republican who would be president now and allow natural gas, and we have staggering reserves in this country. There's a term in German, I don't know the German term, but in English it's energy poor. That's what Americans are going to be, energy poor. Bill Gates can afford the bills. The rich can afford the bills, and the rich are the environmentalists. You ever meet a poor environmentalist? Yeah, so this is the reason that you're— this is the letter that went out from Southern California Gas.

Wow.

As a result, SoCal Gas residential customers can expect the typical January bill— are you ready— likely to be more than double the typical bill last January, assuming the same amount of natural gas is used double, you're paying double because of a cold snap in the East. Do you believe that? Is there one person listening to this show who believes that? We all know why. It's because of Joe Biden and the Democrats who are run by every radical idea on the left and environmentalism is the most fanatic of all of them. It is a true fanaticism. These are sick people doing sick things to society. On the basis, of course, of computer models. Yes, we will all be inundated by rising oceans. So then why do the rich build homes on seashores? Has anybody ever answered that? Do they believe? See, I'm not sure they believe what they say. I'm really, I don't know the answer. It's been a puzzle my whole life. Do leftists believe what they say? When Newsom said all restaurants have to be closed in California and then attended one without a mask, what did that mean? It didn't mean he's a hypocrite. It meant he didn't believe the order he gave out. He knew it was a bloody lie that restaurants had to be closed because he ate in one. Nancy Pelosi knew it was a damn lie that every business had to shut down because she went to one. So all these poor people, the salon my own wife had gone to for years, they went out of business. And this doesn't bother one Democrat in office. They don't care if a small business goes out of business. It's actually one less Republican voter, probably. Many SoCalGas employees are your neighbors and community members, and we are here to help you best manage your energy consumption while balancing usage and comfort. To help keep monthly bills as low as possible, we offer tips, tools, and programs designed to assist you in finding what works best for your home or business. Oh, for example, Bill Tracker Alerts. This is the United States in the 21st century. Bill tracker alerts for whether you can keep your home warm in, in winter or cold in summer. To monitor your consumption to help gauge the amount of your next bill, enrollment is easy. Completing an energy profile through our Ways to Save online tool Provides you with a personalized plan to track progress and determine the best approach to help lower your energy usage. Wear a sweater. I added that. If you would like to spread out your monthly costs, check out our level pay plan, which averages your natural gas usage. By the way, I was just looking at a New York Times piece from November saying the Republicans lie when they say that Joe Biden is responsible for the higher energy prices. It's not true. It's Putin's invasion of Russia. And because I don't know what else they wrote, it was gobbledygook. Oh, it's a, it has nothing to do with the XL pipeline, has nothing to do with the war on, on fossil fuels. How could they say that? On the one hand, they keep telling you that we have to make war on fossil fuels, and then they say our war on fossil fuels has had no impact on whether or not you have energy. How could they say both things? And the answer is, who's going to catch them? The New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, NPR? Who is going to call them on the lie? They make war on fossil fuels and then they tell you, oh, it's not our war on fossil fuels that's having any impact on the prices. It's because there was a cold snap in Buffalo. And you're supposed to believe it. And if you went to college, the odds are you do believe it. We shall return in a moment. I'm Dennis Prager. The Dennis Prager Show. Hey everybody, it's the happiness hour on the Dennis Prager Show. Hello from Miami, Florida. That's why I'm not singing along because it's a remote. Well, I don't know, maybe it's Will we're her her this time? Hey everybody, the happy make the world better and the unhappy make it worse. This is a rule of life. Happiness is a moral project. It is not just an emotional project. That's the essence of my view on happiness. And I have a very, well, I always have an important subject, so it's silly for me to say I have an important subject today. It's about friends long before loneliness became a national issue to the point where in Britain they actually appointed a Minister of Loneliness. I wonder if in order to have that job you had to be lonely. I never thought of that. Well, probably not. After all, you don't have to have had any a background in transportation to be the Secretary of Transportation in the United States. So maybe you don't have to be lonely to be the Minister of Loneliness in, in the UK. At any rate, I've talked about the need for, for friends. I'm not going to talk about the need for friends. I'm going to talk about how to keep friends. One way to keep friends that I'd like to bring to your attention And that is to understand it's a theme that I have addressed in the past, but I have more thoughts. And it's like everything else. Everything needs to be repeated over and over. Think of how many times you said to your child, say thank you, say please. Why is that? Because humans apparently don't learn on first hearing. By the way, that really is a big distinction among people. There are people who hear a very important idea once and they incorporate it into their lives. Most people, it takes massive repetition. Anyway, the subject is everyone. You have to know everyone is a package. It, it's pretty obvious when one says it, but it's not something people incorporate into their lives. And it's true on the macro level as well as the micro. People who support a candidate, and then the candidate takes a different position from them on one subject, and they say, oh, I can't support this person anymore. And I've told you that I, I've had that, and I've even read those emails on the air, not because they hurt my feelings— they didn't, to be honest. It's hard, it's hard to hurt my feelings. The reason that I read them was for people to learn from it. People would actually write, I've listened to you for 30 years. I've been a big admirer and follower of yours. And then you said, and now I realize I was hoodwinked all these years. You're a fraud, or whatever the term that they would use. Because I now said something that they differed with. The mature response is, I still admire this person, and on this particular issue, we differ. I have enormous admiration for Tucker Carlson. We differ on Ukraine. So what? So therefore, it ends my admiration? It wouldn't speak poorly of Tucker Carlson. It would speak poorly about me if that's what I ended up saying. And the same thing is in today's— I'm addressing the micro. You have to understand everybody is a package, meaning that everybody comes with a whole bundle of traits. The chances that you will be crazy about every single trait of the human being only means that you have opted to disregard, which may be a wonderful thing, which I actually, I advocate. If the person in your life could be a spouse, it could be a friend. I'm addressing this especially about friends because you have to figure out why is it that you have let a lot of erstwhile, meaning former friends, out of your life. What exactly would cause that? And you may have dropped all these people because there was something about them that you finally realized you just didn't like or thought you couldn't live with. But the truth is, if the person is essentially good, and has all these other traits, or many of these other traits that are helpful or even essential to a friendship, you don't drop them because of that. I realized this very early in my life. My dearest friend from high school, Joseph, said to me, I think it was already in our— I don't think, I'm certain it was in our early 20s. We had met when we were 15, we're still friends. And he very maturely, he's a mature man. He, he said to me, was, look, I've made peace with the fact that you don't like to talk on the telephone. I would like to talk on the phone. I'd like to be more in touch. It's terrific when we're together in person. But I finally, I've made peace with the fact that you, Dennis, are not a phone talker and, you know, won't respond if I leave a message immediately. So that could be very well a flaw in me, but it doesn't invalidate the possibility and the desirability, better than possibility, of my being his friend. Which has proven to be the case for half a century, and it has been a blessing in both our lives. You have to ask yourself, is the rest of the package worth it? That's the question you have to ask. And as I said, it is true in the macro It's as true about politicians or people who you listen to, whether it's broadcast, listen to, or read. And it is as true with friends, and it is true with a spouse, for that matter. I think it's one reason that people let good people out of their lives. Is because they found what they deem a flaw. It may not even be a flaw. It may be a flaw in your eyes. But if they held the same standard with regard to you, then they would drop you as a friend. The big picture is the only way to go through life. It's— I, in my book on happiness, I call it perspective. If you, if you don't have perspective, you can't be happy. You have to analyze the big picture. And the big picture is, look at all these wonderful parts of this person. So yeah, I put up with X or Y or Z. So what? I've said on many occasions, I think, so what? Are two of the most wonderful words that we have. So what? Yes, that is, uh, that is the question. 1-800-PRAGER-776, 877-243-7776. Did you in your life let go of a friend and then ultimately regret it when you realized, wow, Good friends, possible friends don't grow on trees. I should not have let that person go. Does this make sense to you, that everybody is a package and it's very hard to get rid of that one or two or three traits? That you think make that, make that package imperfect. Anyway, it's good to know you're a package as well. That's our theme today. Everybody is a package. 1-800-DENNIS-PRAGER, 776-877-243-7776. You're listening to the Happiness Hour. Hi everybody, Dennis Prager here. Happiness Hour. You're not going to have any friends if you don't realize that people are packages and you have to simply make peace with those aspects of the person you want in your life that may bug you. You make peace with it. Look, if, if something can be done about it, that's fine, okay? But otherwise, you just make peace with it. It's— people give in to their feelings way too much. Feelings make us human. But being guided by feelings makes you live a pretty awful life, and you come to terrible decisions. The world is hurt by people being guided by their feelings rather than by their mind and by good values. That's true in the macro, but it's true in the micro as well. If you don't realize this is, this is a wonderful person who has attributes I'm not crazy about, but that's inevitable. The only person whose attributes you're crazy about is you. So you'll end up being friends with you and not friends with anybody else. That's just the way it is. And then you tune it out. I mean, you don't, you don't fixate on it. It's narcissistic to fixate on, on on a good friend's quote unquote flaws. They may not even be flaws, by the way. They may just be a different mode of operation on their part. Some people's nature is not to be particularly warm, but they're terrific friends and they're there when you need them. Other people are very warm. And they may come with their own set of issues. Some people make too many demands on a friendship. Some people, you know, are more remote in the way they conduct the friendship. So you just bend to it and enjoy the person for all the wonderful things that they exist about. So I would— it would be interesting to know if you have done this with a friend, or if for that matter with a spouse. What have you done? What have you made peace with about another person? Because the more examples that we can offer, the more help it will be to people. There have to be bottom lines in relationships. I mean, if the person is just mean, abusive, chronically dishonest, I mean, of course these are people not to be in your life. But the flaw part, that's a very different thing. It might not even be a flaw. It might be a quirk. It might be an idiosyncrasy. I mean, you could give it any sort of label people. But otherwise, you're gonna just— you truly would end up friendless. All right, John, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Hello, Sean. I can't press the button for whatever reason. Do you hear me? Yes, I do now. Yes, I do. Thank you.

Okay, thanks for taking my call. Um, I had a friend And on my father's— what would have been his 100th birthday, September 19th, 2018— I texted him, would have been, Dad would have been 100 today. You're lying, can't possibly be, you're lying. We went round and round on texting for about 20 texts. The next day I said, Randy, we're done. Oops, shouldn't have said his name. I said, we're done. And that was it, you know. And calling me a liar for my father's birthday, something I absolutely knew. And, you know, I've got two other friends from high school and we're still buddies. And, you know, I'm very—

wait, I'm very confused. Okay, was he serious?

He absolutely was.

Okay, why would he think you would lie about that?

I don't know, because his father was, you know, my Dad was old when I was born. He was 42, so he was old, and his dad was like 80, so mine couldn't have possibly been 100, you know.

Wait, your father would have been 100. He was born in 1918.

Yes, he would have been 100 on that day, right?

I understand, but why would anybody think you're lying about that? It is— the story is a little bizarre.

That's why I had to lose him as a friend, Dennis.

How long— wait, how long were you friends?

From high school.

Wait, so, so he was a friend for how many years? 40 years? Well, how many years?

40 years? I don't know why.

Okay, all right, fine. Yeah, so I think everybody shares my confusion. He said something bizarre after 40 years. Had he been— had he been a good friend for 40 years? It doesn't add up.

Let me tell you one more thing about the guy. When we talked about— when we would talk, he would say, oh, what about Bob? Oh, I, I had a fight with Bob in, you know, a whole bunch of years ago. Don't talk to Bob. What about Bill? He broke up with Bill.

He—

I was one of his last friends. So it was him, I think.

Okay, all right, that's fair. All right, I was just curious. All right, thank you, Sean. Let it go. Thank you very much. I, I, I don't— I can't operate the phones for, for whatever reason from here. Sean, do you have any idea why I have no control over the lines? Yeah, I guess not. Oh, you mean you had not given me control? Okay, uh, let's go. Let's go to Greeley, Colorado, and Maria. Hello.

Hi, thanks for having me on. I love your talk today. This is just awesome. I wanted to share in comment to your "so what." My dad taught us very early, and so I've used it all my life, the words, "Isn't that interesting?" Because anytime there was any type of discrepancy in viewpoint or whatever, he would just look and go, "Isn't that interesting?" how we live in the same state, we live in the same house, whatever, and we can have varying viewpoints. And it just takes away— saying that just internally takes away all judgment, condemnation, any kind of prejudice, because you're literally opening up that macrocosm like you're talking about to, to just options of everything.

And so you learn— you learned what I'm talking about from your dad?

Yeah, when I was like— we heard him say it all the time, and it was just— um, he was just a very wise— he's passed now, but he was a super wise, sagey individual, and he just always had these wonderful ways to just approach things. And that was one of them, was, isn't that interesting?

That's— it's a very nice way. Yeah, are you—

it just takes away all prejudice, all judgment. I am, 39 years. Yep.

And so, wait a minute, you got married very young.

We did. Yeah, we have a story. I got married, I got married when I turned— right when I turned 18. So yeah.

Wow. All right, listen, thank you. It's, uh, it's—

and I just— and I'm extending—

instead, you got to take a break. Okay, forgive me. All right, back in a moment. That was great. Hi everybody. Club from the mole. Yes, banged in the head by a windmill, a, uh, common saying in New Jersey. Hi, you all, good to be— all right, thank you, Sean. Sean slightly has— what is it again? It's not OCD exactly, and club from the mole, but it's not normal. Okay, uh, tell me when you got it out of your system. And klopfe on the Mole. Okay, I knew it. I knew I was going to get that. My friends, welcome to the third hour on Friday, and the subject today is, as always, whatever is on your mind about you, about me, about life, about death, and of course about— see if I remember the five favorite subjects audio equipment, photography, cigars, classical music, fountain pens.

I did it.

I did it. By the way, Julie Hartman, my spectacular young partner in the Dennis and Julie podcast, which you should all see because once you see one you'll want to see them all, and who has her own podcast called Timeless at Salem Media and anywhere you— any Salem Podcast Network. Uh, she is now in love with fountain pens. Never used one in her life. Used one of mine, and I'm gonna be getting her one. It's, uh, my, my wife got into pens as a result of me. That's a good example of People are not exposed to something and then they are. Now, not everybody— half the population couldn't care less even if they're exposed to beautiful writing instruments, of course. But half would. That's what I feel about classical music. A third— not as many as fountain pens or pens— but a third of the population would fall in love with classical music if properly introduced. That's 100 million people. I do believe that. Again, two-thirds wouldn't. So that's why you need to expose yourself to as many things as possible in life and figure out what love in my life— I don't mean human— what, what can I love in life that I'm not loving now? It's a really good and passionate way to lead life. Okay, let's go to, uh, your, uh, let's go to your calls, my friends, on whatever it might be. In Marengo, Illinois, it is John. Hello, John.

Hi, Dennis.

Hi.

So it's pretty funny, uh, I, uh, aside from that subject, I used to buy, uh, fountain pens for, uh, my top customers. I, I used to run a fountain business. for pond fountains and stuff. So some of my top customers, I bought them fountain pens and they loved it. But, uh, the reason I'm calling is I actually quoted you in my, uh, in my wedding vows. Um, I was happy to do so. I, um, uh, you had a, a piece where one time you said, you know, finding the right spouse isn't about an algorithm or, you know, anything that you, you know, you don't have to change yourself or whatever. It just comes down to luck. You know, you're lucky. There's so many people in this world. It's luck. That's all it comes down to. Um, and I love the two favorite words you've ever said were, 'So what?' So I was, I was married before, and I, that was the reason why I wasn't committing again and didn't want to get, you know, thought, 'Oh, maybe I shouldn't get married a second time.' And this woman made me so happy, so I I thought of your two little words, so what?

And you said both of these things, uh, at, in your, in your talk at your wedding?

Yes, yes. Um, yeah, yeah, I did say, uh, you know, a wise, uh, wise guy— wise man, not wise guy— a wise man, Dennis Prager, said, so what? And I'm lucky to have you.

Did any— did anybody— that's beautiful. Did anybody walk out when you said my name?

Uh, actually, a couple. Surprisingly, a couple of my family members, uh, apparently, you know, listen to your show, and they thought it was, uh, hysterical that I— that I quoted you. So my wife had no idea. She doesn't listen to talk radio, but I did explain to her afterwards, and, uh, you know, and she thought that was—

well, hope Hopefully I have a new listener. That's— congratulations on your wedding and thank you for telling me that. That gives me a big smile. Absolutely. All right, Santa Monica, California. Marcia, hello.

Hi Dennis, I discovered Jordan Peterson on the Bill Maher Show, so I wondered why you never discussed Bill Maher. And of course I know you used to be on the show, but he agrees with many things you say.

Well, I do. In fact, I've cited him regularly, uh, so I, I don't at all expect you to hear every, every citation I make, but I, I, I not only cite Bill Maher and went in on Bill Maher, but last time was 3 years ago, and I'd like to go on again, but I haven't contacted him, but, uh I want you to know that when I think it was ABC fired him because of remarks he made, I had him on my show to defend his freedom of speech, and I didn't like his remarks.

Okay, I do remember that.

Yes.

All right, wonderful. Thank you. Yeah, he, uh, the question for Bill Maher is, as so many who come to realize what the left is doing to the country, is why do you still vote for them? And I think I know the answer, because the thought of voting Republican is so repulsive. It has been so indoctrinated into so many people, as it wasn't to me. I became a Democrat in my 30s. It was indoctrinated into me that the Democrats are for the little guy, and it's tough to realize how untrue that is. Why don't you play the newest Hall of Fame recording, Sean? The woman— I forgot her first name. Her last name was Say, S-E-Y. She was the— what was she? She was She was president of Levi's jeans, and she was in line to be the CEO, and they got rid of her. So she was a woman of the left, big, big supporter of left-wing candidates. And then I had her on the show this week, and this is what she said about the left.

You know, was it always a lie, or is it now? It does not matter to me. It now is a lie. Everything that they say they stand for is, is a lie. They do not care about children. They do not care about, you know, lower-income families and children, and they do not care about inclusiveness, and they certainly do not care about free speech.

Yep, this was an Elizabeth Warren supporter and head of— next to the head, she's president, CEO is the head— of Levi's jeans. They got rid of her simply because she advocated that schools be open during the immoral lockdowns. And then her eyes were opened. That's all lies. It was a big one. It's a big, big comment, obviously. Okay, Avon Lake, Ohio, and Mary. Hello.

Hi, Dennis. I'm calling to thank you because back in I would probably say in early 2020, I heard you on the radio say that you should go— if you don't go to church, you should go back to church for 6 months and forget about all the reasons why you stopped going. So, um, I thought a lot about it, took you up on that challenge, and I'm— I just thank you. Excuse me. So much.

Wow.

For that, for that. Um, later on in, in that year, my husband unfortunately was diagnosed with cancer and ended up passing away. So I— and I started going back to church and thinking that way before he was diagnosed. But I mean, it literally changed my life. I don't know where I would be right now without it. So I always just wanted to call and thank you.

You made my day. You made my day. People don't do what's good for them because they rely on feelings. Not in the mood to go to church or synagogue, won't go. People don't ask what is the best thing I can do. Forget for the world, even for themselves. Like, people don't grow up. Kids only know what they want. I want ice cream. They don't ask what's good for me. They ask, what do I want? And the same thing holds true when most people are in adulthood. It would be better for you. Try the 6-month challenge. And I'm Dennis Prager, as it happens. And these are open lines. What is on your mind is what we are talking about. Okay, let's see what else you guys have in mind. And Kevin in North Hollywood, California, hello.

Hey Dennis, Happy New Year.

Um, thank you.

So I have a question for you, very interesting, about the Bible. It's a real, um, um, riddle, I think. So you know how, um, you say, well, we do not want to— well, you, you don't take orders from like people or like, you know, men or women, whatever you— or people you take orders from, God and the Bible. But the Bible, I believe, says something about God anoints our leaders and we must listen to our leaders. So what then do you do?

Well, I've dealt with that question a lot, as it happens. First, just for pure honesty and open disclosure, that's in the New Testament, and that's really a question for a Christian to, uh, to address, and Christians do address. Uh, so when I have discussed this with Christians, as I have frequently, it doesn't seem to be a riddle to, uh, to them Does God anoint leaders who say the opposite of what God wants? Isn't everything, including the Bible, supposed to be taken both in context and with common sense? I mean, it says love your neighbor as yourself. That's of course from the Old Testament. So if you're— if you're— if your neighbor is a child molester Does that include that? I mean, do I show the same love? And it's really about showing love, not— it's not a heart issue, it's a showing love. But do I show love to my evil neighbor the way I do to a non-evil, let alone a good neighbor? As I have often said, one of the most heretical statements you can make— I can make is that God has common sense. And indeed, that would apply here. Otherwise, you have the great problem of the German churches where they did follow Hitler. And is that really what God would want? So I don't, I don't think that that's, uh, that's a big problem. But I thank you. It's a very, very good question to have posed. Opposed. And I thank you for that.

Thank you.

I might add that— thank you. And what I would add this: I particularly am troubled when people obey irrational, let alone immoral, orders from people, which is what was done with kids and closing schools. They were immoral as well as irrational. Closing churches. You don't want to go to church, you're afraid, don't go to church. But we're not going to suspend for nearly 2 years our services in person because of irrational secular authority. This was a crisis, and the churches and synagogues largely failed. Okay, let's see. Okay, um, there are some subjects that are like, what really is the cause of cardiac arrest? Well, take it. I'm just curious. It's a doctor calling in. Hello, Dr. Greg in Lombard, Illinois. Hello.

Dennis, how are you, sir?

I'm well, thank you.

Good, thank you. With the, the news of Lisa Marie Presley dying from cardiac arrest and seemingly lots of other young people dying of cardiac arrest, I have to point out cardiac arrest is not a cause of death, it is the cause of death. Every person who dies dies from cardiac arrest. It's something preceded that. You cannot use cardiac arrest as a cause of death on a death certificate because it's basically, it's a nonsense phrase. It means nothing. You have to say pneumonia, car accident. Cardiac arrest isn't a cause of death. So I did a quick Google search, cardiac arrest, and then hit news as a tab. And there's a lot of young people. The headline is 15-year-old died of cardiac arrest, 22-year-old died. From cardiac arrest. That's, that's not a— does that make sense? That's not a real thing.

You don't—

yes.

So what is your theory?

I see, that's the problem. I don't know. Is it COVID vaccine? Is it you had COVID and had myocarditis? I don't know. And the scary thing is, is that people just bring that up, the possibility, and they're attacked viciously. Conspiracy theory this, than that, then ban you. You can't even have a conversation. But cardiac— so next time you hear that, remember that that, that tells you nothing, that you, you're dead.

You are good. I am really glad I took the call. I was debating, and I'm very happy I took your call. See, that's the only honest approach, is for a doctor, doctors to say, we don't know. It might, might be COVID-induced, it might be vaccine-induced, but if you even offer the thought that all of these young people all of a sudden out of nowhere dropping dead might have to do with the vaccine, you are just banned from discussion. And when you ban discussion, you have— in most cases, you have pleaded guilty to not telling the truth— or excuse me, more precisely, to not pursuing the truth. You don't want to know. That is what we are witnessing at this time. 1-800-PRAGER-776, whatever is on your mind hour on The Dennis Prager Show. Hello, y'all. Dennis Prager with you, and this is the hour you raise whatever you would like to with me. Columbus, Ohio. Mike, hello.

Hi, Dennis. I really enjoy all the work you do. You've remarked in the past, and I think you've done it jokingly, that like, uh, an audience member will ask you if you could ask God a question, what would it be? You'd say, "Why the mosquito?" And I don't think you would really do that. I think you care too much about truth, clarity, making good people, and fighting evil to ask that. So, I think you would ask God, "How could I make the Rational Bible Commentary more accurate?" Or, if it was too late in your life to do that, meaning you already passed, you would ask him about all the prayers of the Jews during the Holocaust. And how justice for them was ultimately rendered by God. Your thoughts?

Yeah, well, I— yeah, first of all, the mosquito is an adorable comment that I make, what I would ask God. But ironically, the mosquito question is the same question and that is unjust suffering. Why do I pick the mosquito? Because of the staggering number of people unjustly killed by malaria. So I'm asking exactly that question. Why? But it's not available to us in this life. I have given up on getting an answer to the unjust suffering question, and all I am devoted to is how can I minimize it, especially how can I minimize human evil as opposed to natural suffering, which malaria would be an example of. I, I, I have no— no, I don't have any knowledge to minimize the spread of malaria. But I would like scientists to work on it, and they have. But my, my malaria question is your Holocaust question. It's only different in that malaria is made by God and the Holocaust was made by man, which is a difference. But, uh, I am consumed by all the unjust suffering in the world, but I have, as I said, sort of given up on getting a full answer to it in this life. Okay, let's see here. Uh, okay, uh, Middletown, New Jersey, and Gina. Hello, Gina.

How are you? How are you? Hope you're doing well.

I am.

Uh, one of the reasons that classical music isn't so, I think, uh, popular among the young—

yeah, the young—

is because they didn't watch the cartoons you and I watched when we were growing up. We were learning classical music subliminally. Um, everyone, everyone has heard the William Tell Overture. Right, but do they know it's the William Tell Overture?

Uh, well, I'm not sure that even— I'm not sure that even in my generation or my parents' generation they knew that. Uh, well, it was, uh, that, that was the Lone Ranger, correct?

Right, right.

Yeah, that was the Lone Ranger theme. No, no, I am— no, I, I understand what you're saying. Look, it was already beginning, I believe, when I was young. I didn't see many young people when I was young at the concerts. I wish I did. I was always looking to find a girl I could talk to classical music about, and that was somewhat of a failure. But I very rarely saw young people at the concerts then. To a certain extent, I guess classical music is always dying, but it's saved by somebody. It's now being saved by Asians. Beethoven is far more, and Bach is far more popular in Japan and South Korea than it is in the United States. So much, by the way, for the notion that this isn't that Western culture is only for Westerners, or even more absurd, only for whites. It's disproportionately— I follow the music competitions, the international music competition, and it's, I would say, disproportionately, it is young Asian pianists, violinists, cellists who are winning the competitions. Because Bach and Beethoven and Mozart are universal, whereas Gamelan music is, as great as it may well be, is confined to Indonesians. I only mention that because the dummy who writes about classical music for the New York Times said that Gamelan music was just as good as Beethoven's Third. All right, everybody. All right, what is on your mind? That is the issue for this hour. Brian in Minneapolis, hello.

Oh, hi Dennis, thanks for taking my call.

Thank you for calling.

Um, I'm a big fan of your book, Still the Last Hope, and my wife and I don't agree. We're trying to get through it listening on Audible, and she says you just keep going on and on about sort of the liberal positions, and I told her I think that's the point. But she wants to know what you would do if you were going to update that book. She's interested to know if you would change anything from the time you wrote it.

I feel like it's kind of— it's much, it's much worse today.

Yeah, it—

if I, if I updated it, I would just give— uh, I, I didn't write that the left says you have to say men give birth, uh, or that America was founded in 1619, not 1776. So it's Actually gotten worse, but otherwise I would update nothing. See, look, I don't want to exacerbate— God forbid, I really don't— any, any issues between the two of you. But the question isn't— the question should be only one: is Prager telling the truth? If she found that I lied, then she should dismiss me. But the question in life, in all of these things, is who's telling the truth? And then, and then you make your assessment. But if I'm telling the truth, then American values are way superior to leftist values. Yeah. Anyway, thank you. I just, I would note that that was the book that changed Julie Hartmann before she saw the Rational Bible or even heard my show. It's called Still the Best Hope. It's 3 books in one on leftism, Islamism, and Americanism. We don't use the term Americanism, but that's— that, that is in fact, uh, what it is about. Yep. Uh, let's go to LA and Rich. Hello.

Hi Dennis, I have a fascinating situation I'd love to get your feedback on. I was watching the Lakers NBA basketball game last night with my 7-year-old boy, and as one of the commercials, there was a commercial for HIV, some sort of drug, and in the commercial there were two men, and at the end of the commercial they very clearly intimately kissed. For a few seconds on television. I'm curious what your feedback is, what your comments are.

What was the product?

I don't know, unfortunately. I don't remember.

All right, so Sean just told me Dovato. So Sean, are you familiar with that ad, Sean? And is that the correct description? They have an intimate kiss at the end of the ad? Yes. All right, so it's a new trend in the ad. Yeah, well, it's one of the reasons that kids— there's almost no kid-friendly space anymore. See, I have very, very close gay friends, both two, two couples in particular that are married and and a niece who is married to a woman. These are 6 extraordinary people, by the way, in my life. Very, very powerful. In fact, I will be seeing one here in Miami, the couple, this week. The only nun family or non-business event that I have. That's how close I am. Anyway, uh, I'm not sure that they would even push for having male-male erotic pictures on national television. As one of them said to me and my wife said, look, I know that the ideal is man-woman. It's just not possible for the two of us. We, we, we, we are gay. We are homosexuals in that we do not find women attractive. They're obviously sexually attracted. They find them attractive intellectually, emotionally, etc. And it's like when I was single, I didn't marry till I was 32. I regularly said, because I was the head of a major Jewish institution, I said, I remember saying to them, it's irrelevant that whether I'm single or married, what is relevant is what do I advocate. And of course I advocate that Judaism advocates marriage. And you should fire me if I say that Judaism is as happy with you staying single as you're marrying. Leftism and narcissism are coextensive. And the thought is, if I am X, then X is the ideal. There is no such thing as a universal ideal. Whatever I am, that's all that matters. But that's not true. And my gay friends understand that. They do believe the ideal is mom and dad. They'll probably make two terrific dads, as it happens. But that is the ideal, and we shouldn't deny that ideal. See, the issue is no longer tolerance. The issue now is you must co-advocate. That's totalitarian.

The Lone Ranger.

Imagine you dedicated your life to environmentalism and all of its assumptions. Then imagine you realize those assumptions are all wrong. What would you do? Former environmentalist leader Brian Gitt tells his personal story and where it led him. See the new video at PragerU.com, where we teach what should be taught. Let the fight for law and order in the early West return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. The Lone Ranger rides again. Rossini was unique. That's really one of the greatest pieces of music ever written. Giacomo Rossini. He wrote many operas, got rich, and then retired. It is really funny, his story. The guy was such a fantastic composer and basically said, okay, I made enough money, I'll retire. Okay, a reminder, by the way, If, uh, you want to give a great gift, Prager Utopia, all my shows without commercial. People can't hear all 3 hours, or they're in a city that doesn't have a station that broadcasts 3 hours, or they want to hear them again, or whatever reason. And now this Prager Utopia Unlimited where you can get not only all of my shows commercial-free, but all of my lectures and all of my courses. It's, uh, all at pragertopia.com. All right, let's see here. Let me try to see what you folks have to say, because I want— please don't hang up. At least I'm going to try to get your subject if I can't get you. How many students— let's see, how many students in San Diego know about Thomas Jefferson tried to outlaw slavery? They don't know anything, our students. They know, they know the founders had slaves. That's what they know. They know that capitalism is bad. They know that whites are all racist. They know that sex is not binary. In other words, they know nothing. It's frightening, actually. That's why you should homeschool your children. All right, again, I can't even summarize all of them. Mmm, good, about a church that didn't close. I love that. All right, Alan, Matt, Angus, Jeff, Scott, Arthur, Mike, and Dean, forgive me, but there's no way I could take all calls. I wish you all a wonderful weekend. Thanks for listening. The Dennis Prager Show, live from the Relief Factor Pain-Free Studio. Dennis Prager here. Thanks for listening to the Daily Dennis Prager Podcast. To hear the entire 3 hours of my radio show commercial-free every single day, become a member of PragerTopia. You'll also get access to 15 years' worth of archives as well as the daily show prep. Subscribe at prageropia.com.