I was torn this week…on one hand, so many of you depend on RAD radio to stay informed; that responsibility falls on me. I’m the “news watcher,” of the show and it’s my job to keep up with all that’s going on, decide what matters to most, and then translate it into something interesting and relatable. Sadly, one of the roles of the show is to also sift through the misreporting of both the mainstream and conservative media and bring you the actual truth of any given story as well! And there’s been a ton of news over the last 10 days that needed such attention. On the other hand, it’s also the show’s role to offer an escape through humor, silliness, and real-life, day-to-day topics that don’t show up in or on the news, but rather come up on a regular basis in the homes of our listeners.
I’ve always said that we talk about what you’re already interested in, or the things that will interest you once you know about them. Whether such things are positive or negative is not relevant…if it’s something that can, does, is, or will be of impact on your life, either in a good or bad way, we need to discuss it.
The most obvious things I choose to touch on are the unavoidable, whether it be for salacious or obvious reasons. Alec Baldwin killing a director on the set of his new movie is a great example. Everyone woke up Friday morning to that news and all of the unknowns made it an unavoidable story. On the other end of the spectrum was the “bomb cyclone,” bearing down on the western part of America and the potential to bring feet of rain and snow, along with flooding, landslides, and endless road closures. Lots of people would either not hear about that or not take it seriously unless we mentioned it, and we had obligation to do so, just so everyone could either prepare or ignore.
At the end of every week, I have piles of stories that I had prepared to discuss and we simply never got to. In most cases, they’re timeless things that I can save for later…things like “the best store-bought cookie brands,” and “the most memorable advertising jingles of all-time,” and so I just slide them into my “stuff for slow days” folder, and move along.
This week and weekend were different. There is so much going on that people are talking about, need to be aware of, updated on, have vetted, or simply have in the back of their minds that we didn’t get to. So, I decided to call an audible and use this week’s soapbox to at least get on the record a multitude of stories, with some minor commentary, that you may have missed, wondered about, or needed some perspective on…so here goes:
GAS PRICES: Yes, they’re still soaring and there’s no end in sight, and yes, in a remote part of Southern California known as Gorda, they’re currently paying over $7.50 a gallon for regular unleaded. This week, President Grandpa himself admitted he sees no relief until well into 2022, a very reassuring message from the one man who could influence the market and immediately lower prices by allowing America to reclaim its place as the world’s number one producer of oil, as we were just a year ago. President Orange made a lot of mistakes, but Grandpa seems to only make mistakes and America’s inflation and out-of-control fuel costs are squarely on him. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10117649/California-town-sees-gas-hit-alarming-7-59-gallon-4-higher-average.html
SUPPLY CHAIN: Speaking of that, experts now say that America’s supply chain crisis is the worst since World War II when submarines were literally sinking commercial traders. The shortage of supplies has already led to toys increasing in price by as much as 400% while food, if you can find what you’re looking for, continues to soar in price daily…again, just like the fuel costs, with no end in sight. Over the next many months expect it to become harder and harder to find the following: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10109363/Supply-chain-crisis-unseen-WWII-bring-disaster-Christmas-Resellers-jack-prices.html
- Carbonated beverages due to a CO2 shortage
- Chicken due to demand outpacing supply
- Coffee due to Brazil’s drought and internal strife as Brazil is the world’s largest coffee supplier
- Fish Sticks due to shipping delays and container shortages
- All frozen meals due to panic buying when the dreaded Delta Variant hit, and now supplies can’t keep up
- Spices and seasonings due to shortages
- Rice Krispy treats due to a strike at Kellogg’s and various shortages
- Sour Patch kids due to a strain in the supply chain
And of course…
Toilet paper because we’re stupid. Apparently the one thing American’s draw the line at is having a dirty butt. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2021/10/15/grocery-shortage-toilet-paper-coffee-chicken-hard-find/8455259002/
PRICES: Meanwhile, everything you need to maintain your hygiene and beauty is soaring in price thanks to all of the usual explanations having to do with labor shortages, supply chain issues, and raw material costs. Diapers, tampons, razors, lotions, and all things related to dental and oral hygiene as well deodorants and beauty products will all be increasing exponentially. https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/19/business/procter-and-gamble-prices-olay-crest-oral-b/index.html
And now, some Covid related updates…
BOOSTERS: The CDC is now recommending boosters for anyone who is high risk if they got the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, and that all of us who got the ghetto-ass Johnson and Johnson shot to get another one. The key point here is that it’s merely a recommendation and, for now anyway, people who received two doses of Pfizer or Moderna, or one dose of J&J are considered fully immunized. In other words, if you care only about venues or workplaces that require proof of being vaccinated, these boosters are completely optional. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/10/21/cdc-advisory-panel-oks-j-j-moderna-and-mix-and-match-covid-boosters/6114474001/
DELTA PLUS: we mentioned last week that a new subvariant of Delta is spreading like wildfire across the United Kingdom. For the past 20 months, everything that happens in the UK, happens in America one month later so this is glorious news for those who want to live in perpetual fear of Covid, as opposed to those of us who are living WITH Covid. This weekend, Israel announced that the Delta Plus is now making cases skyrocket there as well, continuing the historical model and almost guaranteeing that by Thanksgiving America will once again be freaking out about a fifth wave, despite the rate of hospitalizations and deaths being infinitesimal compared to the pandemic highs, and despite it only affecting those who have chosen to not be vaccinated. We’ll get tons of Covid fear-mongering in addition to cries of the flu being here, as we all continue to forget that getting sick is part of life, and as we all continue to forget that actually living, not just breathing, is supposed to be part of life. https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/coronavirus/delta-variant-descendant-hits-israel-is-it-time-to-panic-682575
HOMESCHOOLING: Quick update for California parents worried about the statewide vaccination mandate for all children in both public and private schools; there has been some worry and confusion over the fact that in California if you want to homeschool your child, you have to register as a private school, and, therefore, many are concerned that the mandate will apply even to those who homeschool. Thanks to finally finding an ally in the Homeschool Association of California, I can report that as of right now, pupils enrolled in home-based private schools and students enrolled in independent study programs who are not receiving classroom-based instruction are not subject to the mandatory vaccinations. Things change, and in California, laws can change at the whim of the supermajority of the Democratic Party, but for now, homeschoolers are exempt. https://www.hsc.org/immunization-exemptions
Alright…just a couple more and we’re all caught up…
DING DONG, BRIAN IS DEAD: The Gabby/Brian tale is far from over, but a major chapter has been closed. As a reminder, Gabby Petito, 22, turned up dead near a Wyoming campsite on Sept. 19… she and her fiancée Brian Laundrie, both New York Natives, were traveling on a cross-country road trip in Petito's Ford Transit van over the summer before Petito was reported missing. Laundrie drew national attention after returning to his parents' home in North Port, Florida on Sept. 1 home in Petito’s van – without her – and saying nothing about it before vanishing himself less than two weeks later. Ever since, authorities have been looking for him and The FBI on Thursday confirmed remains recovered from the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, Florida, on Wednesday were Florida fugitive Brian Laundrie's. Many questions linger, most notably, Laundrie’s parents’ role in all of this and, of course, exactly what happened to Gabby and why. As an aside, one comical sub-plot to this stars John Walsh, formerly of America’s Most Wanted, who has spent the last many weeks going on any TV show that would have him to tell the world that the FBI and cops had screwed this up and there was absolutely no way Laundrie was in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, Florida. He used the term “red herring,” more than his favorite nickname for Brian’s parents, the very creative “dirty Laundries,”…get it? Good stuff, John. https://www.foxnews.com/us/brian-laundrie-remains-confirmed-by-fbi
https://nypost.com/2021/09/23/john-walsh-received-multiple-brian-laundrie-tips/
RAPE ENTERTAINMENT: You likely heard at least something about the woman who was harassed for 40 minutes and raped for nearly 10 on a Philadelphia train while onlookers did nothing other than use their phones to record the entire ordeal. The story here is not that no one did anything. The bystander effect has been around for decades, and in many cases, has some validity to it. People love to claim that they would “do something,” if they were in that position, which is what we call “absent courage.” It’s very easy to claim that you would do the right thing when you’ve never been confronted with the opportunity. Additionally, there are plenty of reasons to not intervene in certain circumstances, most notably self-preservation. A friend of mine opened my eyes to this over a decade ago; he was a former Navy Seal who had seen and done plenty and educated me as to why no, he wouldn’t put himself in harm’s way for strangers any longer; he was a father now and he wouldn’t be a very good one if he was dead. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10099027/Pennsylvania-man-arrested-raping-woman-inside-train-riders-just-watched.html
The truth is that there’s a lot of reasons people don’t stop things as heinous as rape happening right before their eyes, and in America, there is no law that says that they have to.
However, this is a new low on multiple fronts. For starters, at least a dozen people, and probably a lot more given the duration of this horror, didn’t even call the people who are paid to help strangers. Not one single person called 911 while clearly witnessing a woman in strife, terror, and danger. Not one. No one could even bring themselves to get off the train at one of the many stops it made during this atrocity and, once reaching the platform call 911 or approach a member of the Transportation Authority’s Police Department, which are wandering around everywhere.
More horrifying are those who recorded the rape, and clearly did so for their sick entertainment. Had they been doing so to capture evidence for the police, they would have stayed on the train when the cops arrived and arrested the sicko as he was still raping her. More than a week later, not one has even come forward, probably because they’re too busy going up to their equally sick friends with their phones while saying “duuddde…check this out!”
It isn’t news to those of us with eyes, a brain, and a soul, that we’re de-evolving as a society; what’s occasional news is the rate at which it’s happening. Imagine if that woman was your wife, daughter, or mother, and how you would feel knowing that dozens of strangers couldn’t even literally lift a finger to press three numbered buttons to make sure help was on the way for her. If that doesn’t sicken you, you’re one of them. Congrats on that.
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