The Scott Adams School - 05/04/26 The Home Team Trump. Spirit Airlines and an important announcement

Good morning, good morning, good Monday morning, good morning everyone! The start of a fresh week, and I have to tell you, the locals and, uh, whoever got started early— I don't know why I'm showing two local streams up top, that's concerning.

Yeah, that's true.

And two Rumble streams, double the trouble.

It may the fourth be with you guys.

Oh, let's make sure we even show up on the screen for them. Oh, oh, phew. Nope. Yes, yes. Okay, that was, that was sketchy, you guys. We have quadruple going on over here.

I'm seeing someone saying there are actually two Rumble streams and someone's on both of them.

Wow, does this give us double the ratings?

So I don't know.

YouTube came up. All right, everybody, whatever platform you're watching on, hit the like, the subscribe, the notification bell, the hearts, everything. Uh, we'll see how this goes today. So off with a great start. Um, you guys, listen, it's a, it's a big week. I need coffee. We have a lot going on today for you. And, uh, can we all just have a sip, please? Thank you.

It's time for the simultaneous sip, and all you need is really not much. All you need is a cup or a mug or a glass, a tank or chalice or stein, a canteen, jug, or flask, a vessel of any kind. Fill it with your favorite liquid. I like coffee. And get ready for the unparalleled pleasure, the dopamine hit of the day, the thing that makes everything better. It's a beverage that is spewing hearts. I think, if I've got my left and right correct, hearts coming out of my cup. Look at that. Whoa, cool illusion, eh? And get ready for the simultaneous sip. It happens now.

Mmm, mmm.

I realize if you're watching this on YouTube later where we upload it, or on podcast, what I said about the cup full of hearts makes no sense in your world. But remember, we're all watching two movies on one screen, so don't be surprised if what you see is different from what other people see.

Marcela, why are you laughing?

It's just because I was like, what hearts? And I was like, oh, it must have been during that time. And then he talked about it.

Oh yeah.

Like, like now on replay, you wouldn't know. YouTube also has hearts too.

Yeah, an X. But I think he— that was like Periscope, so when you tap the screen, the hearts would come out, and where his mug was positioned, it looked like they were coming out of his mug. So he was like, ooh, fun feature. So good morning, it is May 4th, 2026. You are at the Scott Adams School. I am Erica, and I am joined by Marcella and Owen, and we have, um We have a week planned for you guys, but we got to get through today first. So we're really happy to see everybody. Um, lots of stuff. All right, so you guys, there was a lot of news over the weekend, I have to say. We're gonna save some of it for tomorrow because there was just too much, so we had to pick which ones we wanted to go with first. But I want to thank Dawn. Dawn, uh, you sent us a cute animal clip to scratch my itch. And I love this dog trying to walk like a penguin. So just let me start with that.

Oh my God, he's walking just like them!

He's copying their waddle!

I can't handle it!

That's the funniest thing I've ever seen.

He even does the hips. I love that. Dogs are the best. Okay, so— oh, and you guys, one more thing in animal news. Actually, two. One more thing in animal news. RFKJ, in perfect fashion— I first, I was like, is he pointing a gun at the camera? And then I'm like, no, it's a freaking starling bird at Dulles Airport. So he rescued a starling. Of course, like, he just cannot help but always have an animal somewhere on him or strapped to his car or wherever. But here he is rescuing a starling at Dulles Airport. So Shout out to RFKJ.

Wait, let the conspiracy theories begin about what he did with the bird after.

He's studying it, Owen. He's studying it.

He rescued it with his bare hands.

Yep. Nothing shady is gonna happen from there. Um, so I'm almost done with my clips, you guys. Okay, so this is serious, um, and this could have been really, really, really messed up. So I'm going to show you a still frame first, okay? Now see the circle there?

It's a beautiful day on the road.

That, uh, that nice man right there is delivering baked goods for a bakery, and what you see out his window is the landing gear of a United flight coming into Newark Airport, going right over the turnpike. Yes, the landing gear that's about to hit the box trailer behind his cab. Can you imagine this? Okay, so let me show you the video. One more time. Here comes the landing gear at the window.

Minor injuries.

Oh yeah, we wouldn't have showed that if, if the results weren't like miraculously okay. So he had minor injuries, the plane landed safely, everybody was okay. But that was, um, Nick Sorter posted that one. So that was United Airlines, a Boeing 767 hitting a delivery truck on the turnpike coming into Newark, and the flight and the driver that everybody was safe and survived. But that is insanity.

What's going on in New Jersey, Erica?

Okay, you guys, New Jersey— like, we need to have New Jersey week because apparently— I was gonna say our country, because this state feels like its own country sometimes— is out of control. So I don't know what's going on in New Jersey. I don't know if the drones sprayed us with something, but It is a mess over here. Uh, did you have an update on that story, Marcela?

Yeah, the, the update is that the NTSB investigators are going to be there arriving today in Newark to investigate it. There should be a report within 30 days. They want to talk to the pilots. They want to figure out what happened. And, uh, it happened to be Flight 169. That hit the, uh, the guy. And it also hit, uh, yeah, so there's a shorter, uh, issue whether the airplane actually hit the delivery truck or whether it got close but hit the light pole, which then hit the delivery truck. So there was confusing—

it hit something.

It It definitely got hit by something. Yeah.

And when you are going down the turnpike, the Jersey Turnpike— that's my airport— I mean, the plane, I don't feel like they come in that low. What?

Let me just say this. Yeah, coming from Venice, Italy.

Yeah, what is that supposed to mean?

Yeah, I don't know.

There's a lot of wine in Venice, Italy. I'm not sure.

Yeah, but they had time to sober up with that flight, so— oh my God. No, but they, you know, I, I never see the planes that, that low, but lately we've seen some clips that people have posted where, where they are coming in oddly low. Um, maybe they're playing a game of chicken, these pilots, but it's pretty crazy.

So you're— you, you have the— you're the local reporter there, you know. So is the, is the turnpike where this happened very close to the landing area of Newark?

Is it?

Well, the turnpike runs parallel to the airport, so the airport's here and the turnpike runs like this, and the runway runs like this also. So they are parallel, but I guess they obviously have a runway going the other way too. But it is close, but Never in my life— I mean, I've been going by that airport my entire life— do I have I seen planes that low, like St. Martin landing. You know that island on St. Martin where they like come right over the beach? It's not like that. It's not like you're thinking, oh, let's go drive down the turnpike and hope a plane almost hits us. So this is weird to me. So we'll see what's happening.

Um, you know, looks like there was a Jeep that was also hit by the light pole.

Oh yes, well, it— yes, the driver did have minor injuries, you guys, but the fact that they were minor injuries, I think he was cut with the glass, and thank God he's okay and that everybody's okay. So, you know, that was just interesting.

Um, so I know your, your take was the Dilbert filter take, Erica, that it was incompetence, right? Well, perhaps, maybe.

I am wonder— I did post on X like, what the heck is happening? You know what, I feel like everything's the Dilbert filter right now at all times because I feel like everything's backwards. Oh, tomorrow, you guys, we're also going to talk about Spirit Airlines because how can we not? But there's a lot going on with transportation is what I just want to say, and it's incompetence. But anyway, so I'm going to move on from that story, um, Owen, I'm going to let you kick us off with a story. And you guys, we also have an important update for you today and an announcement coming up, so our news segment is going to be a little bit abbreviated, and then we're going to get into, uh, that in a bit. Okay, so Owen, take us away.

Yeah, well, there was a poll about whether or not we're winning the war in Iran, so I, I wanted to ask the, the audience if you could you know, if you knew the answer, the percentage, about what percentage of people don't think that we're winning the war with Iran.

I wonder.

I gotta think about that. What percentage don't think we're winning the war in Iran?

Oh, oh, we have the smartest audience in the world, you guys.

How'd you all come up with that at the same time?

It's actually 26%. 26% think we're not winning the war with Iran. 74% think we are winning.

That's amazing.

So apparently the— there it is, uh, you know, I think 69% of the GOP say we're on the right track with it, and 19% Democrats, 22% of independents. So a lot of, uh, differences of opinion there in terms of overall whether we're on track as a country.

Wait, Owen, who said— who was the, um, lowest one?

The Democrats.

Oh, duh. Okay.

Yeah, 19% of Democrats think we're on the right track.

Okay. And 22% of independents.

Yeah.

Okay.

Which, you know, I'd like that to be higher, but I guess we'll see what happens, especially after the Iran war fades into the distance, which I'm hoping it will. But, you know, keeps going, so we'll see.

It is hard to know what winning looks like too, though.

Yeah. So the same 74%, I mean, it might be a different 74%, but I'm guessing it's the same, um support stopping Iran's nukes, and they back Israel over Hamas. So it seems like there's, you know, people are lining up on both sides on that. And, uh, 80% approve the Trump ceasefire and 57% approve the Hormuz blockade.

So, mm-hmm. All right. I mean, so we're in a ceasefire right now, correct?

Yeah. I mean, I think, you know, there's again these sort of two movies on one screen always with, with what's going on with war. I think for the most part, I I haven't heard much about actual strikes happening or things like that. I think I did see a story about some kind of cargo ship being attacked by a small craft or something like that. So there may be a few violations here and there, but nothing big. I think there was some kind of deal that Iran put in front of the US to say, "Here's what we want to end this." And I think Trump's reaction at the time, I think he may have been asked about it by the press or something, 'cause his response was, we got this thing. It sounded like he was basically saying he hadn't seen it yet, and he was already concluding. He's like, I doubt it's going to be acceptable. So like, he's basically saying, I'm not really optimistic, but he'll review it. Um, and I think Iran is asking for like a 60-day ceasefire. Um, and you know, may or may not happen. So, you know, we'll see where it goes from here. I think from what I've heard recently out of Scott Bessant and Trump and others. I think the current strategy is still to kind of starve them out economically by just not letting them sell their oil and ship their oil. So then they have to figure out where to store it, and they're running out of places to store it. So I think by losing hundreds of millions of dollars every day and, you know, not being able to store their oil, hopefully the, the strategy— the hope, I think, with the strategy is that they would just have to make a deal because they couldn't afford not to.

Right now, not to throw you off, Owen, but I did see that, uh, or, or Marcela, if you know, that the last tanker of Mideast oil just rolled into California. Um, does that mean something for California now? Do we know?

I don't know. I, I don't think there's an issue with— I mean, it's just overpriced, not raised The, the over— well, price went, went, um, went higher on WTI, the oil. But I would have to discuss the new update on Iran because there's new updates for the Strait of Hormuz, which is why that went up. But in regards to California, the main reason is Gavin Newsom and the Democrats. I mean, the taxation on it. But, um, I, I don't know, it's just going to cost more expense. But we have Texas, we have other places to get the oil from. It's just going to be more expensive.

Um, did you want to give us that update?

Oh yes, I do.

Yeah.

Um, President— so there's, there's Project Freedom now. It's another band name. I, I love how they play their, their drums. Project Freedom. So Project Freedom, um, President Trump posted yesterday about Project Freedom. CENTCOM posted yesterday about Project Freedom would be starting today on May And the— basically, it's— they had differences of opinion, uh, CENTCOM and President Trump. President Trump was talking about any Strait of Hormuz. Project Freedom is regarding the Strait of Hormuz and being able to, um, get ships that are stranded there out of the Strait of Hormuz and being able to guide them with, uh, our help. Um, but CENTCOM, the way they put out their story was a little more expansive, where they— CENTCOM was saying that they would— that the, that the military would help the Strait of Hormuz be open again. So basically guiding all ships from there. There has been only 2 ships that have— CENTCOM this morning, about 6 in the morning, just put out another post saying that 2 ships ships were able to cross the Strait of Hormuz without any issue. This has caused the— due to the fact that there's all this issue, uh, Iran is saying that having naval ships in the Strait of Hormuz is basically, um, tantamount to, uh, basically violating the ceasefire. So they want to attack. They also claim— Iran also claimed that they attacked US Navy vessel, but the CENTCOM then rejected that and said no, no ships were struck. Again, like Oan was saying, two movies on one screen. Iran is doing this mainly for their, um, audience, saying, oh, we attacked a Navy ship, we're— oh, oh, we're in control of the Strait of Hormuz, like we control it. That's how they talk, right? And, um, And the US is saying, no, we control it. So we'll see. And in between, everything is—

we're there.

Um, so there's prevention, um, in regards to whether there's going to be attacks between Iran and the US, but it looks like, uh, it's just gonna be a, you know, stalemate, as always is. But they were— it basically doesn't sound good for the oil prices at this time, but we'll see.

Okay. Did you want to add on to that, Owen, or is that the gist?

Well, I would just say that I think the California situation is partly due to their policies about refining oil, and you know, they're against pipelines, and so they don't have any pipelines to get their oil domestically. So they're like kind of this isolated island where they have to refine their oil a different way because they have all these regulations about what the mixture needs to look like, and that makes it a lot more expensive in addition to all the taxes Marcello mentioned. So it's a cascading failure at this point that they were kind of dependent on all this stuff that they've outsourced in terms of where their oil comes from. They import a lot more oil than other states do, and they have these special refineries, and a lot of the refiners are actually leaving California because they just say, we can't, we're not going to do this anymore. And so they've lost something like 18% of their refining capacity over the last year or so. And so I think they're just going downhill in terms of their energy, that they are going to have really expensive gas and a lot more expensive than the rest of the country.

California just is messing up everything. You want to know why California is messing up everything? And only because, only because it was like you said Beetlejuice, you said Newsom. So you brought up his name, Marcela, and I'm just going to show you. This is your governor, California, and maybe your president one day.

Determine our fate and future. That fundamental notion of agency, I think, is important more broadly. And I think that goes to some of the issues on the right. Determine our fate and future. And that fundamental notion of agency, I think, is important. God, they can win.

God, imagine.

I have hand motions too. But maybe I need to make sense of my hand motions.

Like, I can't with him.

It's a California hand motion thing.

He's like, driving the car. I can't. Okay, so anyway, it's— I'm sure it's some kind of like Jedi mind trick. I mean, putting on us, he's like hypnotizing us right now.

In his defense, The reason California have— has this gas tax and additional gas tax over the gas tax is because of the California voter, because we had, um, we have in the law that any taxes must be passed by propositions through California voting. And so yeah. They voted for it. So it was, it was like before Newsom, but I think he also did some.

So, so Newsom is blaming the voters?

No, I'm not saying he's blaming the voters. I'm just clarifying that Californians voted for this.

I mean, I would just say what I've said many times before: I think California's government is hostile to its citizens.

Well, we're in competition now in New Jersey. So Marcel and I have this like silent race going on of like, who's the crazier state? So, and also you guys have an advantage because you're bigger, but we are strong. We are strong in our insanity. So we'll see. So you guys can place your bets and see who's gonna end up being the more loony state in the next 6 months, California or New Jersey. Not if I can help it. All right, so Marcella or Owen, do you want to give us one more story before we move on?

Um, Owen can talk about this as well, but Trump's China trip is a go.

Oh, I didn't know that.

May 14th and 15th, and, uh, the, you know, there's already a total of 4 aircraft, um, giant C-17s. At least 2 C-17 transport planes have arrived in Beijing. Um, I saw it. Uh, I was— I wasn't in Beijing, by the way, but yes, C-17 transport planes were carrying advanced supplies, have landed in order to have the team and all the security before President Trump gets there. So it looks like it's a go, and it'll be interesting to see.

Wow, imagine all that setup. We should have had those planes at the Hilton. Okay, go ahead, Owen. What were you gonna say?

Trump is not only saying that the meeting is going forward, but it's to be amazing.

Amazing.

So we'll have to see how amazing it is. But I do think there are probably several issues that he has to tackle with Xi. And I think, um, one of the recent stories I saw was that apparently Xi was telling their companies to ignore some of the sanctions on oil, I think, or something like that. And so, you know, there may be some trouble in paradise with this. We'll have to see what— how Trump handles it. But It doesn't seem like Xi is being very cooperative with the Iran sanctions.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I mean, that's the difference too, though, when your country has like a 100-year plan versus a new president every 4 years. So it's a disadvantage for us, and they're just like, we'll wait it out, like we'll wait for the next guy. But anyway, let's, um, let's hope that that is a great trip and that it— I mean, I don't know if I hope it happens or doesn't happen. Um, either way, whatever's supposed to happen for the benefit of our country, I hope that happens. That's all I can really want. Okay, so paper tapping. All right, you guys, so, um, I'm gonna shift the focus today, and I do want you to know that we have an amazing week lined up for you guys, okay? Um, and I believe Joel Pollack's gonna be on with us Wednesday morning. I'm very much looking forward to seeing him, and we're going to get an update about Scott Adams' biography that he's writing. And I think he still has it planned on for a, maybe an October release, which I'm so looking forward to. So I want you guys to just hear me out, okay? So I'm gonna, I wrote a statement from the three of us so I can make sure I give you the information the way I really would like it to be delivered. And I'm gonna ask everybody in the chat to really hear what I'm saying. And if there's anyone that has questions while I'm reading this, I'm going to ask the rest of you that understand what I'm saying to help along with the chat, okay? So one thing I wanted to say first, this has been a long time that we've waited to tell you, but Shelley was very excited and she wanted to make this announcement, and now is the time. So we have permission to do this. So, um, here's what I wrote. Uh, for a while, Shelley and I would talk about the school, the Scott Adams School, what it was, where it's going, and what it could become. And we spitball back and forth about ideas, and believe me, I am chock full of ideas. Um, so we wanted to let you guys know that Owen and Marcella and I have formally signed with Scott Adams Inc. And this happened a while ago, we just haven't been able to tell you until now. So, um, let's see. So I've been entrusted with the role of executive producer and lead host, and Owen and Marcela each have been officially signed on as co-hosts. So, uh, the three of us have truly been enjoying working together, and it feels like we're building something meaningful here. And, um, it is something that we know we're all doing collectively with you guys. So we are making that announcement officially now for you guys. Okay, so we're, we're happy and we're excited, and, um, we've really built like a nice friendship, and we, we do work really well together, and we communicate throughout the day, and, you know, we plan things out. And so I am grateful to you, Marcella, and to you, Owen, um, for our relationship that Scott and now Shelley have, you know, officially binded us together, and I think that that's an amazing thing. Um, so the next thing I want to talk about, I'm going to, um, give you some information, and I'm going to be a little bit limited and vague about the details, and that's what I want you guys to be okay with. All right, so here's what I wrote. Um, what we're about to share with you is now going to be limited. We understand that you are about— what you're about to hear is going to be difficult and that many of you will have questions. We're asking you respectfully to accept that some things just need to remain private. I really need everyone to be okay with that, that we're going to keep this information limited. With the family's permission, we are sharing this information now. Shelley has passed away. This is something that the three of us have known for a while, and we've been holding it quietly until the family felt ready for it to be shared. We know this is shocking. It feels almost impossible to take in, and we felt that same way too. Out of respect for Shelley's husband and for Shelley's daughter and her entire family, we won't be sharing the personal details. I know you can all appreciate that this family deserves privacy, and we're going to make sure that we honor that, all of us collectively. What we can say is that Shelley was an extraordinary person. She was kind, thoughtful, the kind of person you meet and instantly care about. For me, I truly believe we would be friends forever, and I feel very lucky for the time I did have with her. And I told her often that I immediately fell in love with her and with her entire family. They are, they are special people. Shelly's family gave us permission to let you know that she chose to be an organ donor With their support, she was able to help others even in passing, which feels very true to who she was. Shelly carried the loss of her son Justin, as many of you know, and there is some comfort in believing she is now with him again, and of course with our beloved Scott Adams. After today, we won't be answering questions about this. That's not to distance ourselves, but to protect the space her family needs to grieve and the privacy that they deserve. They're, they're a private family. What we can do is honor Shelly by continuing to show up here each day and by holding on to the community she helped care for. Also, Shelly loved animals, and her family has shared a few animal rescue organizations that were meaningful to her. If anyone feels moved to do something in her honor, I'll be posting the links, uh, later for those, uh, organizations if you want to donate in her name. Shelley's family and Scott's estate want all of you to know that the Scott Adams School will continue, that this community, these conversations, they're important, they're still here, and they will go on. From everyone here at the Scott Adams School to all of Shelley's family, we truly have no words to express our sympathy, our grief, our condolences. Please know that we hold all of you in our hearts. We will never forget Shelley, and we will honor her always. With that being said, you guys, I know this is like the last thing you would expect to hear. And, um, we have had some time to sit with this, and it's not easier, that I can tell you. It's not easier. But, um, I want you to know that Shelley has the most amazing family and friends, and there's a lot of them. And I know that their holidays are full of a ton of people, and, you know, there's so much, um, laughter with them, and that Shelley loved to dance and And, you know, everybody is really surrounding each other and comforting one another. So we're gonna just keep holding them all in our hearts and our thoughts and prayers, not to sound cliché, but really holding them there. And to know that they have each other to lean on and that we will always, you know, keep them in our hearts. I just wanted to see, you know, to just toss this to Marcella also to see if you wanted to add anything to what I just said.

I just wanted to say my condolences to her family and to all of us are feeling— it's— I don't want to cry. It's basically shocking to be talking about this, um, right now. But, um, Shelly was amazing. Um, I didn't know her too well. I wish I would have had time more— all of us would have time more to get to know her better. But what I did know about her is that she was a wonderful mother, wonderful wife, um, loved animals, um, from what I gathered. She just was so good to all creatures in this world. And I want you to not cry, but feel joy that we had her and that Scott Adams had her and that her family had her. We are— she was an amazing person and we're glad to have gotten to at least know about her. And she loved dancing. And if you want to maybe dance a little bit, Dancing Queen was one of her songs, and play that for her.

There's a— this is her husband's favorite picture of her. And yes, Dancing Queen for sure. And let's remember that, you know, we We met Shelly thanks to Scott introducing us to her, and, um, you know, I felt so lucky and I felt so happy for Scott that he had Shelly in his life the way he did. And what a special and unique woman that could be there to help take care of her ex-husband, and, you know, and best friend. Um, I don't want to get too far into that, but, you know, I, I thank Scott Adams all the time for introducing us. And, um, what a special human being. Owen, did you want to say something?

Yeah, well, I mean, I, I, like Marcella, you know, didn't know Shelley for too long, but I, I was immediately impressed. I think I met her really on screen like the rest of you near the end of Scott's journey. And, um, it was just amazing the way she stepped up and handled all of that. And, um, you know, you just— you knew immediately that she was just an incredible, amazing, great person. And, um, you know, then we learned that she had been part of Scott's life and helped him with a lot of the Dilbert cartoons and all the rest. So really, he was a bigger part of Scott's story than we all knew. Um, and So, you know, I again express my condolences to the family. Um, you know, I want everyone to respect their privacy. Um, I think, you know, again, as it relates to the Scott Adams School, I think she did a great job just setting this up so it would continue and that it's not really going to be impacted by this and all that. So I think, um, you know, from start to finish, she was just an excellent individual. And like the rest of you, I wish I had time, more time to get to know her and work with her.

Yeah. Thanks, Owen. So, you guys, you know, it was difficult for us to have this information and not share it with you. And it, it didn't matter really what we felt. This is about Shelly's family and her husband and her daughter, sisters, cousins, friends. I mean, this is a very special family. Our Hearts are with all of them. So you guys, with that being said, um, I think when we end this, I think I'm going to come back on just to Scott Adams' Locals, but I'm going to end the stream completely, you guys. And, um, you know, we have to realize that nothing's guaranteed. Life's so unpredictable, and, um the people we meet along the way, let them know what they mean to you when you can. And that being said, I want to say, when I started the stream this morning early and I looked over and I saw all of you guys in the locals filing in, and I just had this warmth wash over me, and I'm like, look at them. I love them. I love that that community is there for one another. And it just brought me so much joy seeing you guys. So we will be back tomorrow, okay? We're gonna, we're gonna keep moving forward. We're gonna be back on tomorrow, and, um, we'll honor Shelly every single day like we have been. And, um, and, and again, Shelly, to your family, you know, they're part of our family, and, um, we'll always do right by all of you. So as we say, you know, we'd like to thank Shelley and Scott Adams for keeping this show going, and we're going to be useful and grateful, and we're going to be back tomorrow. And yes, a closing sip to Scott Adams, and today a closing sip to Shelley Adams as well. Okay, you guys, all right, with so much love and gratitude for all of you guys. Um, and then I'll pop back on in a little bit. Just give me a minute, okay? All right, to Scott and to Shelley and to all of us.

To Scott Adams.

Bye, guys.