Best of the Program | Guests: Samuel Brownback & Carol Roth | 10/11/23

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You're listening to the best of the blended program.

Something that hasn't gotten a lot of attention

that should have

is what's happening in Armenia and

all I can think of is

Kirkrapistan,

but it's

Azerbaijan.

Thank you, Stu.

In Azerbaijan,

there is a liquidation going on, a genocide going on, again, of the Armenian people.

The Armenian people are the first, that's the first Christian nation on earth.

And

it is the Armenian genocide.

around World War I that actually taught Hitler, I can go just erase a whole bunch of people and the world won't say anything about it.

You know, when they say that history repeats itself, some will say, no, it doesn't.

Well, maybe it rhymes.

This is history repeating itself.

Currently,

under the gun, the liquidation of Christians, Armenian Christians, and Jews.

Ambassador Brownback is with us now.

Sam Brownback, he's the National Committee for the Religious Freedom.

He's chairman of that.

He's also an ambassador-at-large and former Kansas governor and good friend of the program.

Sam, how are you, sir?

Hey, I'm doing well, Glenn, and thank you for addressing this topic.

It's just getting precious little play, and more people need to know about it.

We have been following it

from really the beginning.

We've been doing it quietly because there's not a lot of people that know about it, and it's getting no play, and

it needs to be understood.

So you were just there.

Can you tell us what's happening?

Yes, you've got Turkey basically behind Azerbaijan, and it's best to think of Azerbaijan like Belarus is to Russia.

Turkey's the puppet master here, and they are pushing and allowing and

giving military armament to Azerbaijan, as we have.

And they're pushing to have this done while the Biden administration is is looking another way or is being treckless in our response.

That's basically what's happened, they have long-term wanted Armenia and these Christian enclaves out of there.

It's a bone in their throat.

Erdogan, the head of Turkey, is an Islamist.

He wants to take over the world, certainly this region.

And he's doing this while the United States is distracted.

We have 100,000 refugees now from

this region in Azerbaijan.

It is a, it's right, it's almost like a

Native American reservation here in America.

It's right smack in the middle, surrounded by Azerbaijan, but it's Armenian.

And then there's this corridor that connects to Armenia.

And they have been starving these people out.

They've been cutting off everything.

About 100,000 have escaped.

How many more are

there?

Probably 20,000 that are still there.

But

here again,

Glenn, and this is the big point to me, is this is yet another

ancient Christian population being driven out of this Middle East

kind of extended region.

And what will happen?

They'll go to Armenia.

They'll be absorbed into Europe, into the United States, Australia, Canada.

But it'll be another one gone.

And we just kind of we've had tools to sanction Azerbaijan, to sanction Turkey, to press and put some real teeth out there.

We can stop arming Azerbaijan.

And we've not used any of these tools that are readily available to the administration.

How connected is this to what's happening in Israel?

Well, I've argued that Armenia is to Christendom what Israel is to Judaism.

It's kind of the first, and no, Israel is the only Jewish nation, but Armenia is the first, and you've got Muslim populations surrounding both, trying to kick them out.

And this is a play you see often in the Middle East, where there's just not tolerance for Christians or Jews.

And that's why I've been pushing so much for religious freedom for everybody, everywhere.

And this is the standard by which governments and nations should stand by.

And we're certainly not seeing it taking place in either of these situations.

Talking to Ambassador Sam Brombach,

Sam,

the

administration,

you know, you say is asleep at the switch, but

I have a hard time believing that all of these things, I mean, if you see what is

how much money this administration has been sending Iran without us really even knowing it,

they're on the wrong side of things.

But

would you say that this is the way the world looks if we don't turn America around?

Yes.

Look what you've got.

You've got an axis of evil or evil axis, malign axis, whatever you want to call it, between Iran, Russia, and China.

And they're out to take over the

And they've been losing ground.

But now they're out there pushing to gain background.

So Russia goes after Ukraine.

Iran is behind

Hamas and Hezbollah and pushing on Israel.

Turkey, a regional player, is saying, let's go get these Armenians, which we've wanted to do for 1,000 years.

Let's do it now where we have an administration in Washington that won't fight back, won't use the tools that's available.

And I have no idea, honestly, Glenn, why the Biden administration isn't doing more in these situations.

They have the tools.

We have the ability to do this.

And we're simply not acting here.

What do you suggest, Sam?

What can we do?

What can people do?

Well,

they can push Congress.

And I hope people even will write the administration.

But

Congress can step up and do and put this a lot more out there

on the map would be something that people

could help out with because we've got to sanction Azerbaijan and we've got to sanction Turkey.

And right now, we've got to really go after Iran.

They're the puppet master on Hamas and Hezbollah.

Hamas and Hezbollah do not act without Iran.

And we've been sending money to Iran instead of sanctioning Iran, as you pointed out.

This has to stop.

and people need to yell about it and call into radio programs and put it out on their social media.

Iran and this axis of evil, and Turkey as a regional player, just seeking to take over the world while we're not acting at all.

Sam, I appreciate everything that you guys are doing.

Can you tell me a little bit about the 120,000

reasons coalition?

It's a group of Christians and Jews primarily that are trying to stand up for this ancient Christian population and saying they need to be able to live in their native homeland that's been native to them for thousands of years and not being driven out.

And that's what this coalition is standing up and pushing.

And it's one of the coalitions that's trying to get some publicity, some knowledge of people out there about this ancient Christian population of Armenians that are primarily Orthodox Christians,

but love their faith, love God, and are being driven out and in a second genocide.

Senator Brownback, thank you so much.

Or sorry, Ambassador Brownback, thank you so much for being on with us.

Appreciate all you do.

You bet.

120,000reasons.org.

120,000reasons.org.

This is something that everybody should check out

and you should share it with your church.

We

have got to do more.

There's, you know, Stu said to me about 15 minutes ago, there's not a lot of good.

I'm not seeing a lot of light in the world.

I am.

And let me tell you about it.

As I said to Sam, and I don't even know if he knows this, but the Nazarene Fund is on the ground in Armenia and Azerbaijan.

We have been doing this quietly because there's I mean, you're so focused on other things but we know what's going on and it is time now to pay attention because it is with what happened in Iran this is going to run all across the world

so we are on the ground right now helping with temporary housing and life-sustaining food and medicine.

We are looking to move those who are in danger away from the border and the dangerous areas.

There's 100,000 refugees right now in Armenia and the immediate concern concern is just securing warm shelter before the winter arrives.

It's unforgiving in Armenia.

We deployed in Armenia,

began our work there.

Preliminary results suggest 300 to 400 Armenians are unaccounted for.

Some have chosen to remain in their home enclave, while others have feared being injured or killed or facing imminent danger from

Azerbaijani forces.

Some of the casualties are a result of large explosions at a crowded gas station, which left dozens of dead people and unaccounted.

We are in contact with 15 to 20 families whose loved ones, predominantly men, are missing.

Our team has already located, recovered, and removed the remains of a father and his son who were across the border providing

some closure for their families.

Also, residents of border towns, many of whom have family members considered as war heroes, are currently under threat.

We are committed to their protection.

Our team has also begun extending financial assistance for rent and medical care and food to numerous families.

There is

grave concerns that this is going to get much, much worse.

These are Christians that just want to be left alone.

They are the oldest Christian nation, and they are being liquidated.

If you'd like to help us, you can.

I'm doing a fundraiser this weekend and, gosh, I could really use your help.

We've got all these rich people who I tend to I intend to just bilk and bilk and bilk all weekend to get as much money as we can to help the Nazarene Fund.

This is the fundraiser Mercury One does, and Nazarene Fund is under the umbrella of Mercury One.

Mercury One is our charitable organization.

And

between that and the Nazarene Fund, we are all over the world right now.

We have one of our own.

We have one of our own

here from the Blaze

that is in Israel and can't get out.

From what I've heard, there were tens of thousands of people at the airport yesterday trying to get out.

And the White House said, oh, everybody can get out.

There's plenty of ways to get out.

Really?

How?

How?

We're doing it again,

but we are

determined to do everything we can as private citizens to help.

If you'd like to help Mercury One just keep its lights on, which is so important,

all the people we hire, we don't take the money donated to help people in Israel or Armenia or wherever.

100% of that minus the credit card fee goes directly to that.

So we have to do a fundraiser every year so I can legitimately tell you 100% of every dollar raised goes there.

It doesn't go for some phone system or, you know, somebody's life insurance or whatever.

And that's what we're doing this weekend.

And the tickets are all sold, but you can help.

Just bid on,

we've got a lot of cool stuff.

And, you know, just bid on some things in our silent auction at mercury1.org.

You could come out with something after the weekend, or just go to mercury1.org and donate.

We are

step two.

Number one, I told you, it's time to choose sides.

Know what side you're on.

You're either on the side of death and destruction and the rape of children, the normalizing of pedophilia,

the lies that they've been shoveling, the fact that Palestine is justified in raping children

or you're on the side of helping

and we pray

every day to be on God's side

if you'd like to join us mercury1.org

The second principle you have to take away today is we've got to do more.

You know what side you're on.

Now how can you help?

You're listening to the best of the Glenn Beck program.

So I want to give you some hope.

You know, I've said today that you have to decide which side you're on.

And

the choice has never been more clear.

It's just, it's not going to get any clearer than this.

You know, are you for

drag queens in our schools?

Are you for mutilation of our children?

Are you for the end of the nuclear family?

Are you for some sort of social justice that usurps the real justice that only our Savior can provide?

Are you for the rape and murder of women and children and dragging them in the streets because you feel you've been oppressed?

You know, I think we could have done that in Germany,

but that would have made us as bad as the Germans.

As

BLM yesterday in Chicago posted on their website and then put out on X

the paragliders coming in and saying we support Hamas,

but that's a pretty clear sign.

And many people have been dismissing.

All of these signs all the way along.

Well, it's just the right thing to do.

Well, I don't know.

I mean, who are you to say?

Well, you know, I'm a human being, and I have just as much right to say what I believe as you do.

And

I have to tell you,

the world is on the wrong track, and we know that.

Everybody feels that.

But only a few have been willing to stand up and take the arrows for it.

It's your turn now.

It's your turn.

You must begin to stand up.

And the choice has never been clearer than it is right now.

And I warn you, if you do not choose, if you think you can just not think about this and go away, you will end up on the wrong side.

You must make a physical, and I'm telling you, vocal choice.

You need to sit with your family.

Who are we as a family?

What is it we believe?

Are we going to be people that are going to be remembered as the greatest American generation because we stood for something?

Or are we just going to go along with a crowd into insanity and, quite frankly, hell?

I've asked you to choose.

I've told you to prepare yourself mentally for war and a very different America.

But when you choose, you can't just say, I'm with the good guys.

You have to actually exercise that.

You need to begin to engage in things

that are going to do good.

I brought JP Decker in.

He is a guy who has been a producer of mine.

Gosh, 10 years?

Okay.

And then you left.

We went to Fox.

I told you not to.

And then you came back.

I did.

And you are now running the American Journey Experience and Mercury One.

And

within two hours, I think,

of Israel

having the problems they were having over the weekend, within two hours, you had called everybody in, right?

Yeah.

So what happened was we started hearing what was happening in Israel.

And Glenn, Mercury One has stood with Israel and continues to stand with Israel for forever.

Forever.

And it is, these are God's children to see what's happening to them.

I mean, you even talked about, we have seen what happened in Nazi Germany, and now we see it after.

Nazis didn't really want to share those things.

They weren't out there.

But we're seeing it firsthand now what they're doing to the Jewish people.

It affected the team at Mercury One.

And all of us got on the phone.

We all sent out an e-blast to all of our donors.

Within two hours, you raised $80,000.

Within the first 24 hours, you raised $261,000.

And now we are at $806,000.

Now, different than most other charities, I make a promise that 100% of this money raised for these kinds of things goes directly to the source.

So we raised how much?

$806,000.

And how much is going directly to Israel?

100% of that, besides any credit card fees.

But I think that's the most amazing thing.

And that's why...

As these donors, it's the most amazing audience that I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, being with, talking with, because they're not in it for themselves, just like Mercury One.

We're not in it for ourselves.

We're in it to help Israel.

We're in it to help the people of Lahaina, of Afghanistan.

We are around the world, of Armenia.

You just mentioned it.

And that's what was amazing.

So, we are working with some of our partners out there.

Some things we're not going to talk about on air because we are actively working on specific situations, but some things United Hotzalah is a group that we work closely with.

This group is,

you know, the streets of Israel, very small.

It's not like America.

And if there's a bombing or something, an ambulance has a hard time getting to a place.

Plus it has to come from the hospital.

And so

these people had this idea, why don't we just make these motorcycles into portable ambulance

services and then

give them to paramedics.

So they're kept at home and at the office by these paramedics.

So they go to work.

Something happens.

If they're close, they just go.

Yep.

And that's what they did.

And within the first 24 hours of this happening, they went through all of their supplies that were supposed to last them over a year.

I mean, they have been helping the injured, the over 1,500 at least injured in the fields.

They have rescued babies who no longer have parents.

And they are providing medical care, also mental health care.

And I just got a message from them because we just send them a very large amount to help

resupply because this is going to be long-lasting and Mercury One and their partners are going to be there throughout it all.

It's not just a conflict that's going to be overnight.

You've said it.

It's going to be long-lasting.

It is a war.

And

it's amazing to see how these donors continue to step up.

Your listeners.

We thank you

for that.

Now, we are not sending things over, right?

Because

much like the American Revolution, the people who are being called up now, many of them are literal farmers.

So

it's like the American Revolution.

These are people protecting their farms, their homes, their families,

not necessarily professional soldiers.

We have one IDF member who's in his 90s and he's still in uniform with a gun.

Yep.

And so we're helping provide through our partners, you know, deodorant.

clothing, underwear.

They don't have those things.

Obviously, they have their uniforms, but these are just basic things.

I mean, these people all around the world stood up when they were called and they just got on a flight and went to Israel.

They're being called back.

These are some of the most amazing people.

When you look back in history and you see what God brought them through,

and he continues to do that this time.

I mean, you're talking about it through your covenant series.

It's incredible to see how the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob continues to protect the people of Israel and to see them rise up, just like David, when there's a giant ahead of them, the world wants to tell them to sit down, they continue to stand.

And Mercury One continues to stand with them.

If you'd like to give and help Israel or Armenia, do we have a special place for the Armenian Genocide?

Yeah, so you can actually give to the Nazarene Fund for the Armenian Genocide.

And then, you know, just so everyone knows, Nazarene Fund is Mercury One.

It's one of our arms, just like American Journey Experience.

And so we do have specific spots that you can give directly to Armenian Genocide to help what's going on with the Armenian conflict and then also to Israel, and then obviously our maximum impact, which is what we're fundraising for this weekend.

So what we're fundraising for this weekend, and we hope to be able, I have a feeling we're going to be

hiring a few more people in the coming months and maybe over the next few years, I think.

And what we're fundraising for, we have a big gala every year.

I host it.

It's happening here at the studios.

The tickets are all sold, but you can get involved with our our silent auction and just go to mercury1.org and you'll see the different things.

One of them is the silent auction.

Just bid on something.

You like something, bid on something.

All the money goes to pay for everything that we do

so we can say and mean 100% of your money goes.

Because we do not want to be that nonprofit who goes out and says, hey, when you donate to help in Israel or Lahaina, we got to take 15% of that to pay for the staff.

I remember this all came from, and I swore right after 9-11, I will never, ever give to the, I think it was Red Cross, because remember, they bought a gigantic phone system with so much of the money raised, and they were buying all these things.

And I'm like, I didn't give my money to the Red Cross for that.

And I felt ripped off.

And so that's why we do it this way.

Thank you.

Thank you for everything.

It's mercury1.org.

Mercury1.org.

Let me give you something.

A dear friend of mine who lives in Israel with his family, he said,

Glenn,

we now expect that there are 1,200 or so casualties.

If we found out that 900 is what the initial number was, 900 is about 30,000 people per capita.

So 9-11 would have been 30,000 people.

Can you imagine how that would have affected us?

Then, remember, we thought there would be more.

We thought there could be up to 30,000, but it ended at 3,000.

This now number keeps going up.

It's now at 1,200.

If it gets to 1,600, that's 60,000 people.

If you compare it to the United States.

Anyway, he said, the horror stories keep coming in.

I heard the words beheaded babies on TV last night.

The anchor almost couldn't say it out loud.

I wish I could say we didn't believe it.

If anyone need yet more proof of evil, real demonic, anti-life evil does exist, here you go.

One of our friends was in the villages around Gaza, which took the brunt of the initial attacks.

This is a man who was in combat, real, up-close, life-on-the-line urban infantry combat.

He's not a delicate flower by any means.

I can't detail what he but he came out traumatized, saying, That's it.

That's it.

After this, I'm quitting.

I've had it.

He's a father now of small children.

That changes things.

Another friend was asking for a cell phone for one of the soldiers in his unit.

His was damaged.

It takes a second to realize this means that our friend and our neighbor, who we know mainly as a farmer and a father, has already gone into combat with his unit on our side of the fence.

One of the images on the news last night, I saw the corpse of a Hamas terrace laying face down on the ground.

I thought for a moment, this is also someone's son.

This man was also once a small child.

It was once a baby in the crib, just like the ones he and his buddies murdered just now.

I thought of his dad.

Are you mourning for your son?

Are you weeping that you will never see him again or hold him again?

Do you wish he hadn't gone to murder our children?

Or are you proud of him?

him?

Was this against what you taught your son?

Or was this precisely the way you led him?

Your child chose.

He chose to be a part of a death cult, and he chose to pick up a weapon and use it on innocents.

That's on him, regardless.

But what did you teach him?

Because yes, it makes a difference, you see.

Every time we go to war, we find ourselves killing too many civilians.

I blame Hamas, for whom human shields are not just a way of life, but they're a bonus.

They're statistic and fodder for the foreign press.

Whatever we do to Gaza, Hamas will not be the first to pay the price.

In some cases, they will be the last.

And I don't want a massacre.

I don't want one innocent killed.

And yes, I do count children who may one day become terrorists as innocent.

But I also see you celebrating in the streets every time one of us gets killed.

I see you choosing Hamas, choosing death again and again.

You may be a non-combatant, but I cannot hold you blameless for what has happened, and yet what will happen.

If in order to eradicate evil we find ourselves forced to go through those who support and nurture that evil, so be it.

God will recognize His own

Goldomair said famously, We can never forgive the Arabs for killing our children.

Sorry, we can forgive the Arabs for killing our children, but we can never forgive them for forcing us to kill theirs.

Glenn, tonight, that took on a whole new meaning for me.

This is the best of the Glenn Beck program.

So, the difference between our debt and our deficit is

that our deficit is what at the end of the month, at the end of the year, are we short?

And we add that to our debt.

The deficit in September alone was $166 billion.

The U.S.

government deficit finished the year at a whopping $1.7 trillion for the 2023 fiscal year that ended last month.

These numbers were just released yesterday.

After declining in recent years due to the pandemic ending, the deficit is now back on the rise.

1.7 trillion in 2023.

That's more than double last year when you exclude the president's now overturned student debt cancellation and timing shifts.

Deficits are doubling.

Interest rates are surging.

Major trust funds on the course to be exhausted within a decade.

Security threats on the rise.

Have I missed anything, Carol Roth?

Oh, boy, Glenn.

I'm sure there are many things that we can talk about.

But first, I just want to say that, like, right now, I'm kind of

hanging around kindness icon, Mr.

Rogers, saying, When things are really bad, you know, we see these scary things, look for the helpers.

And so, I'm just so grateful to you for being on that side of good and being one of the helpers and bringing this information to people because I do think that it's really critical.

In terms of what you're missing, is that we are in a shift of a global financial order, which has been brought on by ourselves, by our leadership, by the fact, or the lack of leadership, the fact that they have put us in this financial position, the fact that we have this balance sheet that makes no sense given the financial strength of our country.

This is an emerging market in crisis type of balance sheet that would normally have a currency crisis attached to it.

But because we have the world's reserve currency, that's what keeps us afloat.

And so this has empowered what is going on.

It's empowered the bad actors around the world, the Chinas, the Russias, the Irans, who want to take down the United States to try to cause chaos.

If we were in a really strong financial position, this wouldn't happen.

So our economic security and our national security is really closely tied together.

And I think that is a fundamental tenet that has been missed from the broader mainstream media conversation for quite some time.

They've been acting like we can just spend whatever we want because we quote unquote print our own currency.

And that has put us in a very dangerous situation.

So we are,

I believe, and maybe you have a different opinion, but in talking to the experts

that I've talked to off the air and just looking at the tea leaves here,

I think it'll be a miracle if we avoid World War III.

Would you agree with that or disagree?

So I am going to pray for the best and prepare for the worst.

The fact that we have been on this precipice of war is not something that is new.

You and I have talked about this for, you know, probably at least six months, if not longer.

The introduction of my book actually says that World War III hangs in the balance with a certain probability.

So things have been very tenuous.

Certainly this situation has kindled it and brought it to a new level.

I think if you look back historically, you will see that

the Ukraine situation is also tied into this loosely and kind of creates a historical trajectory.

And all we can do now is just pray and hope that, like you said, we find that that way out, but we cannot count on it.

And so, we do need to prepare mentally.

We need to prepare our finances.

You know, we need to do everything we can to protect our families

because that's what you do.

Even if something is a lower probability but has a really bad outcome, you insure for it, you prepare for it.

So, that's strange to say this, uh, Carol, but I don't think uh World War III is a black swan event.

It was two years ago, but today it's not a black swan event.

Um, you can easily see this happening.

So

what will that mean for

the dollar?

I mean, we don't have the money for a...

This would be a two-front war because it would be Ukraine with Russia and Israel with Iran.

And then also, I don't think China would hesitate to pull the trigger on Taiwan.

Because we couldn't do it.

We've never been in this position since World War I.

Yeah, you pulled the words out of my mouth.

I think it's important to kind of understand the financial backdrop and where we are today, because obviously war is always costly, but we're in a very different situation.

We're in a situation where we need to finance war, and we don't have a lot of people who have the ability or the desire to finance it.

So, if you go back

before the Great Recession financial crisis, the 2004 to 2008 period, we had mostly foreign entities who were financing our deficits.

After the Great Recession financial crisis, they sort of started to lighten up.

And so there was a mixture.

Anything that wasn't financed by foreign entities, central banks, you know, adding

treasuries to their reserves and the like was financed by the first time we legitimately had QE, which was the Fed monetizing our debt, going in and buying the treasuries themselves.

Since something, by the way, that the Fed said they would never, ever do.

Right.

From 2014 on, and this is all per Luke Rahman, who does a great job in breaking this down economically.

Global central banks have been net sellers instead of net buyers of treasuries.

So the biggest person or entity that we have today to buy our own debt is the Fed.

Private institutions, as we know, the banks and the like, they don't have the capacity.

They're teetering right now anyway.

So we're in a very precarious situation.

So what happens when we need to go out and we need to raise more debt?

Either the interest rates have to go so, so high to entice investors, private investors to leave behind other investments to go and finance this debt, or because that's going to cause mass chaos everywhere then you have the Federal Reserve that has to come in and they have to do some buying in either the form of that QE which is a certain amount of bonds that they say that they're going to buy or something called yield curve control which means we're going to get the interest rate down to a very specific point and we'll just buy as many bonds as we need to in order to make that happen.

So that's one thing that could happen.

And of course, this is all very multifaceted.

So, at the same time, you have the BRICS entities who could be working on the other side saying, We're going to start flooding the market.

We're going to sell more treasuries and try to make the interest rates going up.

That's what they've been doing on kind of a light basis.

But, you know, China still has a massive amount of treasuries on its balance sheet and some of these other countries.

So, that could be happening.

And then, the third piece of the puzzle, and this is going to sound strange to people as we always beat up on what's happening with the US dollar in our economy, but the U.S.

Treasury market is the biggest, most liquid market that is considered a safe haven.

And in times of war and uncertainty, investors flock into the treasury market.

So that could actually counterbalance it.

So you have these three different kinds of scenarios that are all kind of working in different directions in play.

At the same time, that you probably have a slowing of the economy.

You probably have a raising of taxes to try to eat away at some of this deficit.

And so none of this is good.

So from an individual perspective, when you have this, this is why you often see kind of the flight to the safe haven assets.

So you do have people right now.

who are flocking back into treasuries.

We've seen the interest rates come down because there has been more of that over the past few days.

And things like precious metals that people consider more safe haven assets.

But it is a really complex financial picture in the short run.

In the long run, Glenn, though, a couple of things.

One is that we know that this is not going to be good for our debt position.

And as I've talked about with you and I said in my book, you know, not every new financial world or not every war brings about a new financial world order, but every new financial world order has been preceded by war.

So don't think that the powers that be that are looking to shift the dollar's dominance isn't a huge factor in what's going on right now and seeing that this could be an opportunity to bring about that seed change that we have been warning about.

You and dark future, me, and you will own nothing.

So there are a lot of things at play and at stake here, highly, highly interconnected and complicated, but none of them would be considered a good short-term or mid-term outcome.

So, Carol,

if we go to war, we're just going to have to spend so much.

And, you know, Arthur Herman, who is one of my favorite historians,

wrote a book, oh, what was it?

The War Machine or Freedom's Forge.

And in it, he talked about the companies that stepped to the plate in 1940 to get us ready to go to war.

And he has wondered, in fact, the Pentagon has had him out to talk to him about would we get that kind of support from American industry?

Well, one, we don't have a lot of American industry.

Are we headed towards a time that the average person will recognize this

as

something that they will teach their kids and their grandchildren like our grandparents did with World War II and the Great Depression?

I mean, I certainly think it's too early to make that prediction as a probability, but I do think that it's not off the table.

And as I was saying before, when you have things that might be lower probabilities even, but have really high cost outcomes, that's when you ensure and you plan for those kinds of things.

And you hope that it doesn't come to that.

But I do think we need to be thinking through those.

Even if we are able to avoid World War II III, or even if there's a conflict that

is regionalized and doesn't sort of fully draw us and the globe in, we were already in a very precarious financial situation that was going to cause some of the chaos anyway.

So that would just be a complete wildcard taking things in the other direction.

I think you need to be concerned about how you're getting your energy, whether it's the cost of it or the availability, because given the players that are involved, certainly that's going to be an issue.

50 years ago,

during the Arab, Israeli-Yom Kippur war conflict, obviously that was a huge issue.

And so I think that we can realistically say that's an issue today.

And by the way, our president who did this little stunt of releasing our strategic reserves,

we don't have strategic reserves here in the U.S.

the way that we did before.

So I really think you should be thinking about that from an energy standpoint.

I do think.

you need to have those safe haven assets that we talked about.

So in the short term, maybe go into some of the shorter term treasuries.

Make sure that you have some hedges in precious metals, like we were talking about with gold and silver.

And then, you know, from a personal austerity point,

you know, I don't think we have to do, like you said, what my grandma used to do is she used to wash her paper plates.

And I didn't understand, why are you washing the paper plates?

And, you know, that was what you did in the depression because you needed to reuse those again.

I don't think we need to move to that level of austerity today, but beef up your emergency funds.

You know, make sure that you are cutting back on your spending and getting your own house in order so that you do have some extras.

And as you were talking about before, some of these other preparation types of items, making sure that you have the food and you have the water and you have the medicines, which if things go sideways, we saw during COVID how the supply chains go down.

Imagine what happens if that becomes a broader international conflict.

So, we should have learned that lesson over the last three years.

And I know it's a lot coming out of this period to have to go back into another period potentially immediately.

But, you know, you need to get your head on straight now and prepare.

And again, we'll all pray, we all pray that we don't have to be in that situation.

But if you are prepared, you are going to be far ahead of everybody else in dealing with this if it takes a massive turn for the the world.

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