Smear the Truth-Teller

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I'm just listening and enjoying it. Welcome to the show, everybody. Dennis Prager here. Good Friday to you. Remember a rule that I recently brought to your attention, wrote a column on, devoted a fireside chat to? How do you know who's telling the truth between left and right? The best single guideline I can offer is which side suppresses dissent, which side censors. It is not always the case, but it is nearly always the case that the liars censor others because liars can't handle— whether it's in your family or its in-the-nation can handle the people who say that's a lie. They have no response except to further lie. If that is correct, and I cannot see a single coherent argument against it, the left is the one that lies overwhelmingly. Or as I say every single day, truth is not a left-wing value, it is a liberal value. Liberals vote for leftists, but they don't share their values. The day that the liberal wakes up and realizes that, America will be saved overnight. The tragedy in America is that liberals do not vote their values. They vote for the left. But truth is a liberal value and a conservative value. It is not a left-wing value. It has never been. I called it yesterday, the, uh, the official liars— well, one of them, many. What is it, Media Matters? Right. So this is a left-wing group that assigns people to— assigns conservatives to them to find a statement that they can then deny, or ridicule. And I knew it. I actually called it when I said it, when I spoke of the disproportionate role women are playing in the harming of children in our society as teachers, as librarians, and in the medical sphere. It's just a fact that women are disproportionately involved in this. 95% of librarians where the drag queen story hours often take are female. And 85% of kindergarten teachers are female, 75% of all teachers are female, and the teachers unions are generally run by females, dominated by females. It's interesting, the same people who lie all whites are racist, that's permissible, but to say that women disproportionately, very big difference from the word all, are involved as a wrecking crew in the lives of children, that is not permitted. You are called a misogynist, which is exactly what they did with my comment on this yesterday. So I'm repeating it today so that they can replay it. It proves that truth is not a left-wing value because they don't ask, did what Prager say meet the standard of truth? Or was it untrue? So they do exactly what I said yesterday. They smear you, but they don't debate you. Because the issue of whether it is true or not doesn't matter to Media Matters or to the Daily Kos, or for that matter, to the mainstream media. Is it true is not a question that they ask. Can we smear the truth-teller? That is the question that they ask. So the proof is, of course, coming from Twitter, where conservatives were in fact shadow banned and outright banned. This all came, by the way, PragerU really blew the whistle on it with our lawsuit. Am I right? And that the first— I would say yes. That's why the Wall Street Journal about 3 years ago had 4 editorials about PragerU and what Google, which owns YouTube, has been doing. We've been shadow banned as well. We're not outright banned, we've been shadow banned. There is a group that is trying to get us banned. What is the group? We just had the NewsGuard. Yeah, NewsGuard. Yes, that's right. Another left-wing hate group. And for them too, the question, is it true, is irrelevant. Can we, can we suppress dissent? NewsGuard is unknown to most people. It was unknown to me, but they are known to groups that handle media and thereby suppress media that NewsGuard gives a red light to. There isn't a truth-telling left-wing institution because it's not a value. Again, I make that point. I wish it were not true. Can we defeat dissent Dissenters. That is the question on the left, not what is true. So Twitter is the— is just the latest proof. It's— it should shock the nation. Is it even reported? I'm curious. Is the New York Times reporting this? We have a copy there.

Yeah, here's the front page.

And is it on the front page?

It is not on the front page.

On the front page of the LA Times or the New York Times? Alright, so I have two newspapers from today. Is it on the front page of the Wall Street Journal? Here, take a look. Go unwrap it. I'm very curious. Twitter kept a secret blacklist, this Daily Mail, quote-unquote secret blacklist of topics and accounts to prevent them from trending according to data obtained by journalist Barry Weiss, with conservative commentators deliberately downplayed in what one called Soviet-style bull s— while another said he was treated with, quote, more censorship than Hamas. Conservative commentators such as Dan Bongino and Charlie Kirk were deliberately put on a search blacklist. No? Interesting. So that is very— that is interesting. Look, you should all know the news division of the Wall Street Journal is barely more conservative than the New York Times. The Wall Street Journal is two newspapers: the editorial pages, opinion pages on the one hand, and the news pages on the other, which is not surprising because the journalism schools produce these journalists, and the journalism schools produce, produce left-wingers. Now we have evidence to show that's exactly why my Twitter account the last couple of years has been down 95% in engagement. That was Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA. Those who questioned the prevailing COVID orthodoxy of lockdowns and mask mandates, such as Stanford University's Dr. Jay Bhattacharya— did we have him on? Yeah, that's what I thought. I thought so. This man is a, an MD. He's an epidemiologist at Stanford University, but he spoke about the idiocy— no, idiocy is— I retract that word. It is an idiocy, but that is so what it, uh, it, it was anti-science and profoundly, profoundly harmful to society, to society. The masks and the lockdown mandates. Stanford University Medical School Dr. Jay Bhattacharya argued that lockdowns harmed children. Placed by Twitter on the search blacklist. Top officials such as Yoel Roth, the global head of trust and safety— you know what that even means? They come up with titles— wrote in internal messages that he wanted more creative ways of censoring and muffling specific accounts and content. Another society wrecker, man named Yoel Roth. So the Jay Bhattacharya is the giveaway. A doctor who dissents is to be suppressed. A prominent epidemiologist will also not have full access to Twitter. That was their attitude. We have the proof. History repeats itself, and we're seeing that play out with inflation. When Jimmy Carter took office in the late '70s, gold sold for $140 an ounce. By 1980, the price of gold topped out at $870 an ounce. If today's market performs like it did when Carter was in office, the price of gold could skyrocket from $1,800 an ounce to $9,300 an ounce. This is Dennis Prager for Ampex Coin and Bullion. Don't miss out on a great opportunity to purchase precious metals while the prices are still stable. History repeats itself. We'll see a run on gold, silver, and platinum that will certainly drive up prices. Be smart and buy now, as I am. At AmFed, you're dealing with specialists who provide you with personalized attention, honest information, and sound advice. You'll never be pressured into buying outrageously priced so-called collectible coins or anything that you don't need. Take advantage of today's prices. AmFed Coin and Bullion, 800-221-7694, americanfederal.com, americanfederal.com. Well, I looked. I'm really surprised. It doesn't make any sense to me that the Wall Street Journal— it doesn't even have it down the left side. Do you have an explanation?

I think you gave it.

You think I gave it? Well, I mean, that's really a smoking gun. It's not even on What's News. Well, it's got Business and Finance. Okay, that wouldn't be there. And Worldwide. Wouldn't that be considered worldwide? Let's see if, uh, how this is working out. Well, we'll look over the weekend. Well, there's a big piece by Rob Wiesenthal: Elon Musk slashes bureaucracy, giving Twitter a chance to soar. At least they have that. Anyway, it's clear that left-wing destroyers took over Twitter and suppressed dissent. That's what they do. That's pretty much what the left is in business to do, suppress dissent, because they can't survive dissent. So this guy Roth that they're writing about in Daily Mail, he was the global head of trust and safety. Roth messaged colleagues on Slack to say that spam enforcement had been used as a way of circumventing the safety team under-enforcing their policies. The group would need to intervene if any action was taken to limit the popular account Libs of TikTok. Libs of TikTok is a fantastic account. They all— they do— they don't editorialize. They just publicize what the left does, like to your children at schools. It's the perfect proof that the left is the lying mechanism of the society, as it has been in every society. They, they don't ask, is, is what libs of TikTok revealing true? They just want it suppressed. Wow. The group, according to Roth, the group would need to intervene if any action was taken to limit the popular account Libs of TikTok, whose account was tabbed internally, do not take action on user without consulting with SIPPES. That's the special unit, right, to monitor, uh, what they're going to do about people they don't agree with. Barry Weiss said that account was suspended 6 times in 2022, and the author Chaya Raichik blocked from her account for at least a week each time. Weiss said that their response was in sharp contrast to that when Raichik was doxxed.

Wow.

With her home address published online. Did you know that? The libs of TikTok had her address published online.

Yeah, it's a big deal.

Rachel complained, but Twitter refused to take the tweet down. Isn't that so? You have to understand, that was the purpose of Twitter— suppress the right, suppress anybody who isn't left. They kept it up, the address of the woman who runs Libs of TikTok, and it remains on the site to this day. Does she go on any programs higher, Rachik?

I don't know.

We should definitely give it a try. Rachik tweeted, they suspended me multiple times knowing I never violated any policies. This is what happens when you talk about things that they don't want you to talk about. Exactly. That's exactly right. So glad those days on Twitter are over. Thank you, Elon Musk. Musk replied, you're welcome. Twitter won't be perfect in the future, but it will be much better. Wow. Weiss also singled out Roth for criticism. Saying he was active in censoring accounts.

Huh.

Guys like Roth and the others at Twitter, you have to understand, like the people at NewsGuard, they sleep well at night. It proves the conscience is a very, very weak mechanism in most people, I'm sad to say. The amount of people who harm others and sleep well at night is proof about the weakness of the conscience and the ease with which one can manipulate it. That is why this— when I ask people, also, you don't, uh, you don't feel you have to answer to a god for your behavior, or you don't have to obey the Ten Commandments, you just figure it out on your own? And they said, yes, I, I listen to my conscience. Oh, that's— that I gotta say, that's really comforting. By the way, the quote of the day, indeed I think of the week, maybe of the season, and we're coming to the end of autumn, was given by Harry.

Prince Harry.

Prince Harry. He's still a prince? Doesn't make sense. Anyway, Prince Harry— I've been reading a lot about the, the Netflix series and related issues, and he said— I should have isolated it— I'm like my mum. The term for mom in, in Britain and other English-speaking places. And he was speaking about Princess Diana. I'm like my mom. Mom, I follow my heart. Is that perfect? Yeah, that's what he does. The shallow man follows his heart. I can't think of a worse way to direct your life. As I have said so often, those of us who take the Bible seriously know that it constantly warns about following your heart. In October 2020, journalist Dave Rubin asked then-CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey, do you shadow ban based on political beliefs? Simple yes or no will do. Dorsey replied, no. Does Jack Dorsey believe he lied? I, I It's obvious he lied. The question is, does he believe he lied? It is hard for me to wrap my head around liars. How do they do it with a straight face and then say, 'I don't lie'? It's a puzzle. Elon Musk has done the nation a service. We return. The Dennis Prager Show. You all have helped build MyPillow into the incredible company it is today and have trusted in Mike Lindell to give you a great night's sleep. On top of the special available to my listeners on the Percale and Giza Dream bedsheets, marked down as low as $29.98, Mike is now changing the game with his 3-piece towel set. This set is made with USA cotton, making it extremely absorbent yet still providing the soft feel you look for in a towel. The set comes with 1 bath, 1 hand towel, and 1 washcloth, typically retailing for $49.99. For a limited time, you can get this 3-piece towel set for the low price of $19.98 with the promo code PRAGER. Don't miss out on these extraordinary offers. There's a limited supply, so be sure to order now. 800-761-6302. Use the promo code PRAGER or go to mypillow.com, click on the radio listener square, and use the promo code PRAGER. Hi everybody, I'm Dennis Prager and I welcome you back. Finally, on the Twitter issue, Vijaya Gadi, Twitter's head of legal policy and trust, also denied that Twitter operated such blacklists. We do not shadow ban, she said in 2018, according to Weiss, speaking alongside Kevyn Bakpour, Twitter's head of product. They added, and we certainly don't shadow ban based on political viewpoints or ideology. Wow, did her parents teach her not to lie? I'm not being cute. I, I don't know how you say something, especially publicly, you know not to be true. What percentage of people can do that? The answer is whatever percentage it is, they're disproportionately on the left. There are liars on the right, but on the right, there is a fidelity to a code higher than the individual that you don't find on the left. The code that is higher is promote the progressive agenda. You may recall, it certainly got a lot of play when I testified in the US Senate at the invitation of the Republicans, and it was with regard to Google, which owns YouTube putting some of the PragerU videos on their restricted list, meaning that any parent who has safeguards against pornography and violence cannot have access to them. Libraries cannot have access to them by definition. It's amazing, libraries were not able to see some PragerU videos, but they could have drag queen story hours. So when I, when I visited, I was asked, so Mr. Prager, uh, no, no, I wasn't the, uh, the Google representative. Was there in the same room. Why did you suppress Mr. Prager's video on the Ten Commandments? Do you have the answer that the man said? Because it says murder. Okay, that's what I really care about. He actually said because it mentions murder. I hope you all understand the the absurdity of that response. It also mentions adultery. It also mentions lying. It also mentions, uh, let's see, theft. That's what the Ten Commandments mentions. When it was my turn to speak, I said, okay, Prager, you will now release a Google-friendly Nine Commandments. The Nine Commandments. We will drop do not murder. When that man said that, as an example, this representative from Google in the United States Senate, we suppressed Mr. Prager's video because it mentions murder, his video on the Ten Commandments. So here's a perfect question: did he sleep well that night? Did he not realize what a moral fool he looked like? And the answer, I guess, is no. I guess he didn't. The ability of people to convince themselves that they are right when they are wrong is almost infinite. The ease with which people lapse into— descend into the wrong The ease is very, very worrisome, which is why ultimately a God and a divine code are necessary. They don't always help either, but they help. That's right, this explains the whole left to you. Have a holly jolly Christmas, it's the best time of the year. I don't know, for whatever reason, this is one of my favorite Christmas songs, and it's got to be Burl Ives. Nothing else works. So what if he was a big leftist? And everyone you meet. Hi everybody, the Happiness Hour. We didn't have that regular happiness theme because it's Christmas season. And every Friday since 1999, I've had the Happiness Hour. Happiness is a virtue, not just an emotional state. The pursuit of happiness is listed along with life and liberty as the essences of life. The wise, infinitely almost wise people who wrote the Declaration knew what was important. And the, the rule of life is the happy make the world better and the unhappy make it worse. So this is a big deal. On rare occasions I have a guest, and the one I have had the most on the Happiness Hour over these— what is it now— 23 years is Dr. Stephen Marmore. Wow, you're getting standing ovations, Dr. Marmore. That's from That's from Sean. Yes, from Sean. That's true, he's standing.

Yeah.

Dr. Marmor is a psychiatrist in Brentwood in Los Angeles, and he is on the faculty of the UCLA Medical School. He's a clinical professor. Is it of medicine or of psychiatry?

Psychiatry.

So they do this— so if one is a specialist, uh, in, in pediatrics, is there such a thing as a clinical Professor of Pediatrics, right?

That's—

oh, that's the way it works.

That's the way it works.

Okay, great. So clinical professor, and as I always say, I know how lucky your patients are, and I mean that very sincerely. I hope some of them are listening.

I hope so.

Okay, so Dr. Maher is one of the handful of guests that I just— I either raise a topic spontaneously or he comes in with a topic. He has come in with a topic today, and I didn't know what it is, and I still don't know what you'll say. That's how much I trust you. So the floor is yours, Dr. Maurer.

Well, thank you, Dennis, and, uh, obviously I'm always glad to be here. And in Dennis Prager's style, because you like to number the points that you're going to make, I came in today with 5 items which, if you master these 5 items, I guarantee your happiness will be enormously increased.

Wow.

So the first one is, how much anxiety and stress can you contain without turning it into a destructive emotion and having to act out? And the acting out could be kicking the dog, it could be taking a drink or drugs, it could be exploding at somebody. It could be doing something harmful to yourself. How much anxiety and stress can you contain without turning it into a destructive emotion that eventually causes you to act out?

So do you want to list the 5 and then I'll ask questions? Sure. Okay, it's because I obviously I'll have a million. Go ahead.

Well, we might not get to number 5.

That's right, you're right. So go ahead.

The second one: can you keep the good thoughts about people in your mind and a picture of the good side of another person you care about, even in an argument or when they disappoint you? If you can remember that the person that you're having a troubled relationship with at this moment is actually somebody you like or love, and you remember all the good qualities about them, that's going to make you much happier, and it's going to allow you to preserve relationships through periods of strife. The third is how much do you see yourself as fundamentally responsible for your own life, and how much do you see yourself as a passive, helpless victim? Victims can never be happy. Only those who feel that they have some autonomy, however large or small it is, even as Viktor Frankl would say, even in a concentration camp If you don't emphasize the extent to which you are in charge of your life, you're not going to be happy. The fourth thing is how much do you fill your life with positive events? Whether it's beautiful music or profound art, festive holidays, great literature, worship, transcendent spiritual moments, a favorite mentor, most of all loyal friends. Such positive events not only build up a reservoir of happiness, but actually it's been shown that children who are deprived of sufficient number of positive events in their life have stunted brain development. And you can actually help people develop neuronal connections by providing for them positive experiences in their life. And by the way, that's— we don't have to go very far to think of how these draconian lockdowns of the past few years—

I just wrote the word lockdown—

have, have ruined our opportunity to have positive events and why so many people are depressed and unhappy and irritable now. And finally, last but definitely not least, if you aren't grateful, you can never be happy. Gratitude is an absolutely indispensable ingredient to being happy. And yes, of course, we all have undeserved bad things happen to us, but if you are honest and you do a real inventory and you look at all of the undeserved bad things that happen to you and you compare them to the unearned good things that have happened to you, I can guarantee you the unearned good things outnumber the bad at least 10 to 1 in my life, perhaps even 1,000 to 1. And just to give a couple of examples, on no merit of mine, my grandparents migrated to the United States. That was an earned good thing that happened to me. On no merit of mine, penicillin was available when, as a 2-year-old, I had pneumonia. And those are just a couple of—

that's a great example. Nobody would think of that because they always think about the specific done to them.

That's right. But if you spend more of your time thinking about the unearned good things that have happened—

your grandparents moving to the United States meant you would be born.

That's correct.

Given the Holocaust.

That's correct. That's correct. So these 5 things: containing stress, don't split— in other words, remember the good even when you're upset with somebody— agency instead of victimhood, filling your life with positive events, and gratitude. If you master the majority of these, I guarantee your happiness will be increased.

That's— it's a terrific list. Uh, so Let me pose the most obvious question I think anybody listening would. All right, let's say I, as you know me so well, I'm not an anxious person, thank God. So number one, how much anxiety and stress can you contain without acting out is not an issue for me. I— we all have other— there are our own issues, but that's not one. But what if it is an issue for somebody? That is their nature. How do they get— how do you control that?

Well, there are, you know, kind of simple things like count to 10, or meditate on the good events of your life, or think about the unearned goods, good things, or think forward to the damage that could be done if you do act it out, or you do succumb to your anxiety. In other words, That's not something that comes naturally. People have to actually work on it. But if they do work on figuring out ways of relieving stress that are not destructive, it will pay dividends for them.

Do you have an example of a way to work out stress that's not destructive?

Take a timeout. Open a book of poetry or a biblical verse to calm you down. Memorize a few sound bites of mantras to tell you that it's going to be better if you don't act out.

Take a walk.

Take a walk. Exercise. Uh, call a friend. This is in the 12-step programs. When you're overwhelmed with stress, call your sponsor rather than punch your neighbor or get into a fight with your wife or take a drink.

1-800-PRAGER-776 is the number The, the, this, the $64,000 question in life— well, there are two. What is stopping me from being happier? And B, now that I know what it is, will I act on it? Is that a fair way of, of looking at this?

Right. Yes.

So what do you do? Is a therapist's job both or primarily number one? Identify your, your issues.

That's the prerequisite. You need to identify what's driving you that you don't know about. Almost always there's a force multiplier in your childhood that is adding oomph to the misery that you're having right now. And if you can disconnect that force multiplier from childhood, from whatever the present situation is, and just know that it is merely the present situation and not the entirety of your life, that will be better. But once you do that, you then have to turn from the net— from identifying the negative to how do you enhance the positive.

Back in a moment with Dr. Stephen Marmer, UCLA Medical School, 1A Prager 776. The Dennis Prager Show. Howdy, y'all. This is the Happiness Hour on The Dennis Prager Show. Friday, the second hour of the show. On rare occasions, a guest. The most frequent guest on the Happiness Hour for the last decades has been Dr. Stephen Marmer, psychiatrist in Brentwood, LA, where he has a private practice, and he is also a clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA Medical School. So he came in with a list of 5 things that he assures you, if you master, you will be happy. I love the list. How much anxiety and stress can you contain without acting out? Can you keep a picture of the good? Oh, on that one, the person you're having an issue with, usually within the family, let's say, or even a friend. Yes, I, I, I have the chills because I, I, I know how important that is. It's— I have my way of putting that. Tell me if you, if you would agree it's the same thing, just different words, is please remember everyone is a package.

Yes, yes. And especially if you have a long-standing relationship.

Yes, exactly.

Then there's way more good in that, and you, you mustn't forget all the good in another individual just because at this moment you're having—

right. And, and if you can't remember all the good, get a new friend.

Yeah, fair enough, fair enough.

You know, it's either one way. Either you are right to have this person as a friend or you're not. But if you're right, take the time that they didn't call to say that they weren't coming in stride.

Yeah, and when I work with couples, I frequently say, well, didn't you once love each other?

You do?

Yeah. Oh, didn't you once love each other? What did you love about each other? Are— did those things completely disappear just because you're arguing about such and such?

And, and you have found that to be a helpful question?

Yes, yes.

Uh, that's, that's real. Oh my God, what you must see in your room.

Indeed.

And yes. Oh wow, what a question. You, you caught me off guard. Third was, how much do you see yourself as responsible for your life, and how much do you see yourself as a victim? Listen with me. You can't be happy if you think of yourself as a victim. So I know somebody— well, what would you say? I know somebody, and it's almost incredible to me, who will not speak to a parent. It's not my child, just for the record, thank God. And what he raises is that all the, the bad things— and I don't mean none of them are abusive, but the bad things he remembers from when he was 7 and 8 and 9 and 10— is that common?

Sadly, it is far too common. And I right now, I know of several families in which that's the case right now. And OMG, yeah, it's, it's very painful. Um, And of course, number 2 and 3 sort of go together because if you feel that you've been a victim of your parents, then you only remember the bad. You don't remember any of the good. And you also don't see yourself as responsible for making your life better. Okay, they did this or that or the other bad thing to you. Okay. Maybe it did happen, maybe it didn't happen, maybe it's an exaggeration. Now what are you going to do about it? Do you have any responsibility for the way you make your life today? If you don't feel that you have any responsibility for the way you make your life today, how can you possibly be happy?

Excellent. Also, since you say that is common, which drives me crazy, Do people— do these people really believe that if they— if God made a list of all the good things the parents did for them and all the bad things, the bad things would outweigh the good?

I don't think they think about it that way.

But if you—

if you did challenge them, um, I would hope that they would— that That gets back into gratitude. Are they capable of being grateful for all the good things that have happened?

They are interrelated, these things.

And unfortunately, all the good things that happen to us, we assume we were entitled to. And like, are we grateful that the air is clean? Are we grateful? I remember hearing once George Burns got his friends to roll over in laughter when he would meet them at the country club and he would say, you got to try the water, it's really delicious. And, and they would, and they would laugh because why would anybody think to be grateful that the water is delicious, right? But if we did that more often, we would be happier. And if we did that more often with our parents, we would realize that a lot of the things they did, the sacrifices that they made, the fact that we had a roof over our head, the fact that we had meals, the fact that they encouraged us in various ways, that would rise to the top and the other things would go to the bottom.

I'm gonna ask you the giant question that is true for all 5 things, and it's been gnawing at me in my thinking of what I call ultimate issues. All of these 5 presuppose that people have free will. I can choose not to act out. I can choose to see the— or remember all the good this friend did and not just be preoccupied with this bad instance. So if anybody has thoughts on free will, it would be a therapist, because you see, that's what you deal with. In a nutshell, because this is as much philosophical as scientific, but it's both, how much free will do people have?

A considerable amount if you think about it in terms of compound interest. I can't choose to have been born in a different century or to have had different parents. I can't choose as an adult to be 3 inches taller. But I can make little teeny tiny choices which, one leading to another to another, over time make a difference. So another 12-step phrase that I— they're great wordsmiths in the 12-step programs— you might not be able to choose your illness, but you can choose your cure. You can choose your recovery. So in little tiny ways, you can choose. You can choose to bite your tongue. You can choose to count to 10 before you Lash out. You can choose to acquaint yourself with good literature. You can choose to find a good therapist. You can choose to go out and exercise. You can choose to decline that third drink. And those choices, by compound interest, one leading to the next to the next, each time you choose something good a variety of better choices opens before you.

Here's a toughie for you. What's your batting average with patients getting them to master their life?

I would say 75, 80%.

Really?

Wow.

Now, of course, these are people who come to me willingly, so they already have a predisposition that they want to make.

All right, I want to— I'm going amplifying that and take calls. Dr. Stephen Marmer, UCLA Medical School. I'm Dennis Prager. This is the Happiness Hour. The Dennis Prager Show. We wish you the merriest, the merriest, the merriest, yes, the merriest. We wish you the merriest, the merriest, the merriest. You'll cheer. Mr. Prager, we'll start with you. The happiest, the happiest, the happiest, yes, the happiest. Microphone. Ah, okay. Do I get my— You would think a radio host would know how to do it. You would, you would. That is a very fine point. I have no response. Happiness. It gives Sean more pleasure than you can actually identify. To play by being insulted by a US senator. You'll cheer. I'm the happiest. All right, let me do what Dr. Marmer suggested. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. What I would have done had I not counted. All right, everybody, Dennis Prager here. It's the hour of the week. You set the agenda. What is on your mind about you, about me, about life, about death, and needless to say, about Audio equipment, photography, cigars, fountain pens. Ah, crud. What's the fifth? Sean, what? Classical music.

Let Dennis be Dennis.

Yeah, let Dennis be Dennis. That is certainly true. 1-800-PRAGER-776. If I don't take your call, don't be insulted. People get insulted too easily. It's a very serious problem, actually, the people getting insulted too easily. How come I don't— I never feel insulted? Even when I'm insulted, I don't feel insulted.

Even when they call you a misogynist?

Oh, that broke my heart. They called me a misogynist, right? That's correct. You know why? Because they can't think. They don't pursue truth. Women are disproportionately involved in hurting children today. That's a fact. It's either a fact or not a fact, but it's not misogyny. Men are disproportionately involved in violent crime. Is that male hatred? Called misandry, a term you never hear because, you know, they don't want to portray men as victims. Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's a lot, a lot of stuff going on. All right, y'all, everybody, yes, go ahead and go. Warren, Michigan. Robert, hello, Dennis Prager with you.

Yes, sir, nice to speak to you.

Thank you.

I would like to know if over the years you've ever debated a Holocaust denier.

I haven't, and tell me why you ask.

Well, because of your comments that you've made recently about a place in hell for them, and there was some stuff on your webpage about it. Just curious.

Yeah, no, it's a very fair question. I assumed that was the reason. Thank you for calling. My column this week, DennisPrager.com, American Greatness, Jewish World Review, TownHall.com, DennisPrager.com, and elsewhere. My column is that Holocaust deniers have a special place in hell, essentially. I do believe that. And I made the point in the article that— in the column— nobody denies the mass murder of Ukrainians by the Soviets called the Holodomor. Nobody denies that a quarter of the Cambodian people were slaughtered by the communists in that country. Nobody denies that Mao killed at least 60 million people, or that Stalin killed between 20 and 40 million people. Nobody denies, except the Turkish government, the mass murderer of the Armenians in World War I. The only denial of mass murder slash genocide has been among people who hate Jews. Nobody believes there was no Holocaust. I mean, there are people who believe that the earth is flat. There's nothing I can do. But if they— they know very little about the Holodomor, but they don't deny it. That is, the 5 million or so Ukrainians deliberately starved to death by the Soviets in the early '30s, 1930s. Because, you know, there's no great anti-Ukrainianism, but there is anti- Judaism or antisemitism as it is known. It's, uh, I knew— I, as I pointed out in my article, I don't know of a historical event that has been as documented or more documented certainly than the Holocaust, and yet We have so much less documentation about the starvation of the Ukrainians, but nobody denies it, and as nobody should. It just— it's just a form of, I hate Jews, and this is one way I can express it. That's all it is. All right, LA, California. Victor. Hello, Victor.

Yeah, hi, uh, Mr. Prager.

That's me. That is all.

Yeah, yeah, a couple of weeks ago I met you and we— and I took photo with you at Starbucks.

Oh, I do remember you actually.

Yes, yeah, thank you very much. Right, yeah, I wanted—

oh wait, were you— what were you reading when I met you?

I was reading— I was— I ordered your book online, your next Deuteronomy book. And I had already read it.

Right. Were you reading it in Starbucks?

Yes.

Yeah. Blew my mind. That's why I remember. Yes. Guy sitting reading my Bible commentary in Starbucks. I have to say that was a first. Okay, go ahead.

Yeah. So lately I've been trying to study Hebrew and it's so fascinating. And, uh, I've been reading some materials from rabbinic quotes, so I wanted to take your in— I wanted your take regarding tzedakah, because charity. Yeah, yeah, because your previous guest said when you give, you get happy, and both the receiver and the gifter. So I was reading some rabbinic book that tzedakah could even make you happy, could even make you rich. So I wanted your, your take. Your right, your deep knowledge on Hebrew.

Well, yes, it's a very, very interesting question, Victor. I, I'm thrilled you called, and you made my day when I met you.

You made my day every day.

Oh, is that something? That's— it's a great feeling. I think he's— I forgot to say on the air, I'm pretty sure he's from West Africa. Anyway, you will all find this of interest why I said it was a very good question. The Hebrew word for charity, the biblical word tzedakah, actually means justice. It has come in later Hebrew to mean charity. Did you give tzedakah this year? How much tzedakah did you give? That is a common statement that the Jews would make, or, you know, I gave X to tzedakah today. But actually, the Hebrew word for justice is tzedek. The feminine of tzedek is tzedakah. So it's not exactly justice because justice is the masculine form of the word. The feminine form of the word is also It's sometimes translated as righteousness, but it came to be charity. So the point that is worth making is it's not just to deprive the poor of some help. There's a very interesting list made by the greatest Jewish thinker, Maimonides, the 12th century, of the, of the levels of tzedakah a person can give. And the, according to him, and not only according to him, the highest level is to make it possible for this person to support himself. The highest form of charity is to produce a person who doesn't take charity. If that— that's what we call wisdom. There is no wisdom today because there is no Bible today. Where do people get their wisdom from? The New York Times editorial page, or their woke teacher, or some other nefarious force. So it is a crisis of wisdom, but that is the highest form of charity. And this is 1,000 years ago listed. And what is our phrase, teach a man how to fish? Well, what is the— in English we have a phrase that it is something to the effect, it's not giving a man fish, it's teaching him how to fish. This is, this is well known as the highest form of charity. Coming to rely on charity is the lowest form of charity. It's sometimes necessary, but that's the case. By the way, religious people give more charity than secular people. That's not an opinion, that's a fact. Back in a moment. The Dennis Prager Show. It's time for play. It's a whipped cream day.

I'll wait for it to roll you around.

Those are marshmallow clouds being happy. Sean, it's very easy to make Sean happy, by the way, which is a very nice trait. You also— it's also very easy to make him angry. See, I couldn't leave it with just a compliment. I'm so sorry. It's terrible. I can't control myself. Remember, when men insult each other, it means they love each other. Okay, just want you to know that. It doesn't hold true in this case. All right, let's go on here. North Hollywood, California. Kevin, the famous Kevin of North Hollywood.

Hello. Yes, yes, Dennis. Um, my question is about, um, is a trans— is about a trans issue. Um, uh, first I wanted to, um, I wanted to ask if it's possible to do a biannual Dennis and Kevin minute.

Oh God, a biannual minute of you and me talking.

Um, correct, that is my Christmas wish.

Okay, well, it's beautiful to have wishes. All right, now go on to the trans issue.

Oh, okay, so the trans issue is, so if a biological man says, look, I am a biological man, but I know I know I am not an actual, like, man in my brain. My question is, how does— how do they know they're not a man in their brain if they're not a man? Like, how do you know that you're not something if you're not that? See what I mean?

I think I do. So I, I have that question too. A 16-year-old girl says she's a boy. How does she know that? Given that the brain of a girl, the physiological facts are different chromosomes, different hormones, a different brain. I mean, it's just a fact. Male and female. She has a female brain. She has had only female experiences. And of course, if she's 25, she has— well, not even at 16— she has a female body, but she knows she's a man. She doesn't even know what she's saying. She knows she is. By the way, the irony of the left, because The left doesn't think coherently, and I believe that literally. They, they have been teaching since I was in college, since I was in graduate school, that men and women are basically the same. So if men and women are basically the same, why is it trans anything? I'm just becoming the same with different parts. So obviously the people who most believe in trans also most believe that there's no difference between men and women. So you can't have it both ways. Either there's a very big difference between men and women, or there's no such thing as trans. It doesn't matter, because if you challenge them, Twitter, until Elon Musk took it over, would have suppressed that tweet. And obviously the same thing holds for Facebook and Google and all the others. San Diego, California. Jeffrey, hello.

Hello, Dennis. Um, you know, I live in California and I'm starting to feel— well, in California and the United States, I'm starting to feel— and I don't want to be dramatic— like I'm living in Sodom and Gomorrah. Uh, because California, they just— we just recently passed a proposition You know, the abortion proposition which allows a woman the unlimited right to abort her baby even though the baby is 100% viable, you know, right before the day of birth if possible. And I don't know why people voted for that in particular unless they, A, were morally evil, or B, they were ignorant of the language and didn't understand what it meant. And then the other thing that's got me discouraged is this congressional vote with a lot of RINOs voting for enshrining same-sex marriage as the law of the land now. And I'm just getting very discouraged as far as what kind of society do we live in.

Well, you're one of tens of millions in the United States, maybe 100 million. Maybe more than $100 billion, who was discouraged regarding the, the bill just passed with a fair number of Republicans voting for it as well. My, uh, my prediction— and I, I have always avoided the prediction arena, but I'm saying it so that it'd be clear what the real intent was It is only a matter of time before clergy are arrested in America for not performing same-sex weddings. It's already begun to happen in the United Kingdom and Canada. I know that there's language about religious exemption. The language is a farce. You can't, you can't be a bigot in the name of religion. That's what they will say. Remember, all leftists are totalitarian. Liberals are not totalitarian, conservatives are not, but leftists are. They want to control everybody's behavior. They even want to control everybody's thought. They want to control what you say in private, just like in North Korea. The proof is the eruption of leftist anger and hysteria over the comments that Donald Trump made privately about grabbing women. He had no idea he was on a microphone. He was talking to one man. And yet they held it as this— this shows you who he is. If we judged everybody by their private comments, nobody would seem decent. But that's too deep a thought for the left. Sleep in heavenly peace. All right, everybody, Dennis Prager here. Hey, you want to— I'm just reminded myself, a truly meaningful Christmas present, Hanukkah present, would be any of the volumes of my Bible commentary. If you read the, if you read the the comments on Amazon. There are 5,000— Genesis, Exodus, and now Deuteronomy. You'll see it's, uh, how it affects people's lives. Called The Rational Bible. It's a, uh, you get at the Prager Store, you get it at Amazon, anywhere. That's a meaningful gift. And if they read it They will thank you. The Rational Bible, all 3 volumes, or any one of the 3. I have 2 more volumes to do. It's the toughest project I've ever engaged in in my life, and it's a very— at the same time, very rewarding. Again, The Rational Bible. Uh, all right, let's see. Let's go to Palmyra, Indiana, because I have a guest here from Indiana. You know where Palmyra is? Wow, you're from Lafayette. All right, uh, Tim, where is Palmyra?

Um, it's about 20 miles, uh, west of Louisville.

All right, 20 miles west of Louisville. All right, because I have an Indian in the studio listening in. Okay, take it away.

Okay, um, I just had a quick question for you there. You probably saw on the screen, um, I just— I know the left always talks about things being racist, you know. It's like someone says, uh, that, uh, Black people disproportionately commit crimes, or more than white people. They say that's racist. So my question is, if that's a fact, can it be factually true and also be racist like they say?

Excellent, excellent, excellent question. I have grappled with this question in my mind for years. So my view is, it depends. It is a fact that blacks disproportionately commit violent crimes. So the question is, why is the person making the point— the point can't be racist. The point is either true or false. Racism depends on something false. All blacks commit crimes is racist. Because it's so self-evidently untrue. Any— almost pretty much if you say all of anything, it's a bigoted comment. But the second question is, why is one making the comment? I think it is worth noting the disproportionate number of Blacks in violent crime so as to figure out a solution. If the purpose is to engender hatred at blacks, it's racist. If the purpose is to point out a truth that needs to be confronted, it is not racist. That's how I have resolved that issue. A guy once called me and said, you know, Jews control Hollywood. Not uncommon statement against Jews. So it's partially true. True, Jews are in fact disproportionately involved in Hollywood. That's true. So I asked the guy, your— I said to the guy, to his shock, I said, you're largely right. What is your point? And he had nothing to say. He had no point. His point was, I can't stand Jews. And that's what I said. What is your point? Okay, so fine. See, what is your point if you point out blacks are disproportionately involved in crime? Wow, maybe the big issue in many blacks' life, young black males' life specifically, is the lack of fathers. And that needs to be addressed. And what policies have we pursued to deprive so many blacks of fathers in their lives? Okay, so yes, so Jews disproportionately, uh, control, if that's the term you wish to use, uh, or dominate in, in Hollywood. I think, I think it's true. Let's say it's true. So that's what I asked the guy. What? So therefore what? And I asked him one other question. How would— how on God's earth has it benefited Jews? What was the last pro-Jew or pro-Israel movie made? 40 years ago? 50? Hello, y'all. Dennis Prager here. Reminder of the Angel Tree campaign. Get a kid a gift and into religion, possible, or at least experience of it, but a gift from parent who's in prison. Got 1.5 million kids in this country with a parent in prison. This is a beautiful way to reach out. Dr. Marmer, the psychiatrist, he, uh, he confirmed my, my belief that you're happier when you give charity. Anyway, the banner for the Angel Tree campaign is up at DennisPrager.com. Please click on it. Remind these children that they are never forgotten. And now to your calls. Let's go to, uh, Dan in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota. Hello.

I want to know what you— oh yeah, Dennis, can you hear me?

Yeah, yeah.

I, I want to know what you think of the idea of leaders of the Orthodox Jewish religion coming out forcefully and stating that we will never mock the Torah, we will never mock the Ten Commandments, we will always require that we are respected regarding our free exercise of our religion, and we will never perform the oxymoronic phrase of same-sex marriage. Which is that doesn't exist. It could be a civil union, yes, but not marriage is sacrosanct between male and female only.

Well, all right, so there's a larger question here, and that is Orthodox Jews, specifically Orthodox rabbis, generally speaking, speaking out on issues, and most don't. And I am very sad about that. Most, uh, most of any group is not speaking out today. And look, you've hit a very sensitive arena in my life because I'm a religious Jew. And if religious Christians and Jews don't express what needs to be expressed about life today, if they can't come out and even say it is a gigantic lie that men give birth, and if you have to be a religious Christian or Jew to know it's a lie, that's a major advertisement for a religious life. If secular people are much more likely to lie, say something such a gargantuan idiocy as men give birth. It's as idiotic as 2 2 5. But of course, in Oregon, in the Education Department, they say— they do say— the OED, Oregon Education Department, has said that the idea that in math there is one correct answer is a form of white supremacy. Truth is not a left-wing value. I tell you that every day, more than once a day, because It comes up regularly, but my disappointment in religious Jews and religious Christians is deep. Most of them were sheep-like during the irrational, illegal, and evil lockdowns. Oh yes, the The secular authorities tell me that I can't have people come to my synagogue or church, and I will of course listen to them. It turns out that they were wrong. Sweden proved that they were wrong. Secular Sweden, I might add. So what can I tell you? A disproportionate number of the dissenters for good have been religious in America, so I'll say that. But still, most have kept silent because they don't want to be thought of as bad by the New York Times any more than secular people do. All right, let's go to more of your calls. Los Alamitos, California. Is your name Tino? Is that correct?

It is Tino. T-I-N-O. T as in Tom.

Gotcha. I was right. Tino. Hi.

Hi, Dennis. Dennis, you talk about courage, and I wanted to give an example of when you showed tremendous courage. Back when you were at KBC, they were bought out by Disney. There was a new radio person in charge. I believe it was a female. You came on the radio one day after a intense meeting. And how do I know it's intense? Because you're transparent. And they were pressuring you to talk about Monica Lewinsky. You said you would not do it, and you said that your listeners didn't want to talk about Monica Lewinsky. When you signed off, something along the lines, you said that if you weren't back the next day, we would know why. Well, I remember saying to myself, he's risking his job standing up for what he believes in. That was tremendous courage.

It amazes me you remember it. Thank you. I don't sleep well if I'm a coward. Most cowards sleep well. Look at college presidents. But I don't even— I don't take that much credit for it because I rather sleep well. That's why I have a selfish reason for exhibiting courage to the extent that I do. As I said earlier in the program, the left proves the ease with which the conscience can be mollified. Back in a moment. All right, final segment of today's show. Dennis Prager here. Try to get in as many as I can here. Cleveland, Ohio, and Bob. Hello, Bob.

Hello, Dennis. Good afternoon.

Thank you.

Hey, uh, after listening to you for a long time, it's often come to my mind to wonder, um, this, this question, uh, in, uh, there's a proverb in the Bible somewhere that says it's not for those walking to direct his step. And, uh, Henry Ford has said that, uh, if you believe you can do a thing or not, you're, you're right. So my question to you is, I'm wondering, I've often wondered where What led you to decide that, uh, you could not make up your own mind, you could not discern and know what was right for you to do, to be, to have, unless you consulted, as you've often promoted, the wisdom of the Bible?

It's a great question. It's a great question. I think an average person who can put their feelings, emotions aside, think rationally, be profoundly committed to truth can come to a lot of wise conclusions. The vast majority of people, however, are governed by their feelings. The entire left-wing agenda since Marx through Lenin is a feelings-based world devoid of wisdom, and the consequences are there to be shown. If you even just ask, is it true, you're halfway there to wisdom. Having said all that, however, my lifelong study of the Bible, specifically the first 5 books, the Torah, upon which both the Old and New Testaments rest, has given me so much insight And it is so profound that I have a phrase that expresses my theology in a nutshell: I don't believe in the Torah because I believe in God. I believe in God because I believe in the Torah. My vehicle to faith are those 5 books, and that's why I've written— and I'm writing— The Rational Bible for each of the 5 books. Because it will give you a vehicle to God as well, stronger than even the one you might have. Have a wonderful weekend. 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 PragerUtopia. You'll also get access to 15 years' worth of archives as well as the Daily Show prep. Subscribe at pragerutopia.com.