Strung Out Episode 222. THE WORLD ROUNDUP (FROM THE BACKYARD)

 Welcome to Strung Out, the podcast that dives deep into life through the lens of an artist. Hosted by Martin Laurence McCormack, an accomplished artist, writer, and musician, this episode features an engaging conversation with philosopher and long-time Chicagoan Robert Smith. They tackle a myriad of pressing topics, from the contentious political landscape involving Donald Trump and January 6th to the complex international affairs with Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine. They also delve into the challenges of mental health and homelessness in urban settings like Chicago. Tune in for thought-provoking dialogues and a special segment on the heartwarming traditions of Halloween with Marty’s “Jack o’ the Lantern” song. Don't miss it! 🎃

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to Strung Out, the podcast that looks at life through the lens of an artist. Your host is the artist, writer, and musician, Martin Lawrence McCormack. Now here's Marty. Hey, great to be on Strung Out. I have my friend Robert Smith, philosopher, expert on the world. Uh, Before we started this camera rolling, you, you summed up this whole thing in two words, pretty depressing, pretty depressing, uh, pretty depressing to start with the depressing news.

[00:00:39] Um, I don't know if I'm depressed more for Trump or the people that support him. And that's the part that that bothers me. January six still sticks sticks out in my mind, right? And it's still unbelievable when I watch it. And Jack Smith, the prosecutor, came out with some new evidence that overrides what the Supreme Court says.

[00:00:59] And stuff that we didn't know. Like interviews with Pierce, uh, Jack, uh, with Pierce, uh, Pence. Yeah, and, uh, it's, I don't know where this is headed. This guy's still running. He should be in prison. Well, do you think, um, What do you think, just from your gut, you know, communist chances are? Very good. I think so too.

[00:01:20] Very good too. I think people are fed up. There may be people who will not vote. Maybe there will be people that won't vote. I mean, of course, we being in Chicago, in Illinois, it's very different. You almost kind of are frustrated by the fact that you're, we're in such a heavily Democratic enclave that your vote, I mean, it's important to vote, but the vote itself, at least, you know, it's not as important as if we were talking Wisconsin.

[00:01:46] Right. Right. And, uh But you got Dick Cheney supporting her. Right. Liz Cheney supporting her. Right. And lots of other Republicans. They're concerned about democracy. Right. That's where the issue is. They're worried about where democracy is going. And Trump can And rightly so. Yeah. Now, there was one little glimmer, uh, that lady out in Colorado that was the, um, county clerk that rigged, tried to rig the election.

[00:02:14] Um She got nine years, right? Nine years in prison, and I said I love it. I, I read the transcript of the judge, uh, his deliberation and it was really something because he talked about how this lady was privileged. He said, you come from privileged background. I'm just remind, but he said, our court sees people that, you know, suffer from, uh, Circumstances like poverty, poverty, abuse, alcohol, drugs and stuff and he says so when that comes in here That's all laid out and that's generally what we have to deal with and he said but you You're here unrepentant and, uh, he called her charlatan, which is a great word that, uh, is, I think, uh, a word we're going to hear a lot more of if, uh, These people all go to trial and, um, he said she was unrepentant.

[00:03:21] Yeah. He said your whole attitude in this thing has been, uh, you know, unrepentant. So, um, I think, uh, I think his nine year sentence, he said, I tried, you know, he said, not that he tried to, uh, give her time off or anything like that. He said. Basically, you cooked your own goose because you think you didn't do anything wrong.

[00:03:45] You're bringing along a television crew to, to still agitate and, and sell things. And he said, uh, he threw the book at her. No kidding. So nine years in prison, which it's good. Yeah. You know, will she spend the entire nine years? Probably not. Probably not. It's not a violent crime that she did, but you know, I'm just happy that she got incarcerated because I think the message in and of itself is, you know, you tried to subvert democracy.

[00:04:21] And you have to go to prison. And he didn't accuse her of treason, but he did accuse her of subverting democracy. And that, uh, and proved that she did. Yeah. So that's, I think, uh, Votes well for if the rest of the country is able to come to their senses. And, uh, and they're still prosecuting other people for that.

[00:04:50] And hopefully Trump will not get in because he has said that he would pardon all these people. Thousands that he could do that. He says they're patriots. Right. And that's why he's down in Georgia. Uh, why he was really sucking up to a Brian Kemp is he realizes that, uh, He could possibly lose Georgia. If he loses Georgia, he will lose the election.

[00:05:14] If he loses the election, yeah, he's going to jail. Yeah. I think there's no way that, uh, he can get around that. And, um, that's why the judge did not sentence him because he did not want to, he did not want to, you know, Seem like he's interfering with the election because he would, even though you might want to send this guy to jail.

[00:05:31] Well, I can't do this. This is right, right on his record. So, right. I mean, since the last time we met, what a, what a crazy change in the world. Uh, you know, last time we were talking, Joe Biden is still running. That's right. And now we have Kamala Harris and, uh, and she is, uh, kind of Got rock star status as far as and money and money the money coming the money that's coming in for her And I like her.

[00:06:00] Yeah, I generally just feel like she's got a steady hand on the tiller She's a prosecutor. She's a prosecutor, you know put a lot of rich people in prison in prison talked about that. Yeah, you know And but you know, even if she my fear is even if she wins look where we are as a country Yeah, let's say he she wins You But I'm still going to think about, look how close it came.

[00:06:23] What's with these other people? They're still in the country. They're American citizens. We have to respect their rights, their votes. But I mean, this is terrible. Well, I, there was a great endorsement, uh, that came out yesterday from, uh, Bruce Springsteen. Ah, yes, I heard. Did you hear about it? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:06:41] And, uh, he's addressing what you're talking about, is that where the country is right now, that we have so much work that we can't afford. To hear of a guy like Trump because we have to clean up. Yeah, there's still that cleanup that mess. And when you think about it, um, you know, uh, the Biden administration, uh, uh, cleaned up the COVID and the economy mess, but we never really had the chance yet to clean up the, the Trump mess, which is all that relies to the point of, uh, you know, we have insurrection, we have this, um, It's lies, it's just cultish.

[00:07:23] Well, the courts brainwashed. It was what, 60 attempts, 60 court, uh, uh, efforts to overturn it. And they all rejected him. So that's in place, but the fact that he actually tried to do it. And what does it say to young people who are going to get into the justice system? Well, it, yeah. It's, it's scary, you know, or you want to be an election judge or you want to just, you know, all those things, you know, that's the fact that they turned the whole democratic process and it's a they.

[00:07:57] It's not only, you know, trumpet, it's all those guys like, uh, uh, Matt Gates. Yeah. Yeah. And all those other people, uh, that kind of, they turned this thing into, um, you know, a racist classes, you, you name it. Yeah. They did it to go and, and keep themselves in power. Um, then you have the war. Yeah. And Harris has to walk a fine line.

[00:08:25] I'm sure she doesn't like what's going on, but we're supplying the weapons. We're supplying the weapons and the tanks and everything else. And I mean, what do you say? You know, what do you say? Yes. And you watch, I watched PBS News Hour and you see this kid, these Children are blown apart. And I mean, what do you do?

[00:08:46] Yeah, I don't know. I have agonized over that. And I can't imagine what, like somebody that has, uh, the power like Harris or Biden.

[00:09:03] What do you do with such a, uh, an ally? Yeah. Um Who is not listening to you. Not listening to you. Exactly. It's like a Exactly. And that's, this is the thing, is they're going their own way, um, and you're damned if you do and damned if you don't, at least until the election, because if you pull back on the arms, then you're gonna have a whole block of people People are going to say, Hey man, you're, you're throwing, you know, Israel under the bus.

[00:09:33] And right now, even though the Muslim American community is saying you're throwing our people under the bus, um, they just don't have the financial power. Your suggestions that Netanyahu is doing this until the election is over because he wants Trump's support. Well, and, and that's it. I, I think it's interesting that you bring that up because the parallels between Netanyahu and Trump just are amazing in the sense that they both are facing criminal prosecution and both are paddling as hard as they can to stay out of jail.

[00:10:11] In Netanyahu's case, it is whack the dog. You know, I mean, Hamas, you know, he leading up to October 7th. Which we're coming up a year on. Uh, he, he did aid and abet the enemy, uh, apparently with, uh, cash donations and things like that. Some very nefarious dealings with the Hamas government. Mm-Hmm. . And, um, ultimately, really I think what it this comes down to is, uh, Israel verse Iran, and, yeah.

[00:10:44] That's that's really where this is all heading both have nuclear weapons. Am I right? Well, I don't know. We don't know for sure. Israel. We know. We don't know for sure, but we're pretty sure that they do. Even in this age of nuclear weapons, I mean, look what's going on with Russia and Ukraine. I mean, the, uh, to use one is to, to, to end the world.

[00:11:10] I don't think it would go that direction, but I do think what's going to happen here is, is what's happening here is that Israel is going to follow it all the way through. They're going to, they're going to fight with looks like, uh, you know, the wars now in Lebanon, it's war. But ultimately what it's going to be is it's going after Iran.

[00:11:32] Who suffers in this scenario is, uh, over on our side of the palm, the Muslim American community that has family, has friends, and relatives that are getting blown apart. I can't, I can't fathom it. Um, and I think it's, it's, uh, it's a horrible situation because the people in this power play, uh, between all these factions, really between Iran and Israel, are, are caught in this vice.

[00:12:04] And, um, Yeah, I don't know what the answer is. I mean, Biden has suggested has talked to him, but, but, you know, there's been cabinet members of the head quick. They say this is going too far, but he's guaranteed at least four years as a president. And there were protests, you know, thousands of people, but he's still in office, right?

[00:12:27] Well, you know, he brought in to hold his power. He brought in the far right. And, uh, these guys in the far right are, are, um, they, they don't even believe that the, the Palestinians have a right to exist on that land. It's really, um, it's not an, there's no easy answer. And the slaughter continues when you hear about a bombing.

[00:12:55] And they say they killed, I don't know where they get the intel from. How do you know that you killed this guy? They, they probably did, but they killed him and his two daughters. But where'd you get any intel from? Where's the information coming from? And then other people are killed along with this guy.

[00:13:09] Well, you know, you, you won't know for sure until this is all over because that's, that's how that goes is, is, you know, you, you're getting reports from, uh, Hamas, you know, like in Gaza, you know, that's Thousands of people have been killed and you're getting reports from Israeli intelligence over, you know, hundreds, if not thousands of terrorists being killed.

[00:13:35] Yeah. You just don't know. I think you don't know. And so, you know, I, I think ultimately what I hear the, the, the, Muslim American community saying is we're going to have to just vote for the lesser of two evils and then pray that once Harris gets in, she'll have the bully pulpit and the ability, which I think she will.

[00:14:00] I don't think she, uh, it's, it's a mess. to extricate ourselves from. Plus, I don't know if we can extricate ourselves because we're the great Satan. And we're still supporting Israel. I mean, if you stop sending weapons, it'll end. Right. But then again, you might end. I don't know. I don't, I just, I don't know, you know, unless you're a magician or something, snap your fingers and make this go away, that's not going to happen.

[00:14:28] Diplomacy, they've tried diplomacy, but still nothing is happening and people are dying every day by the numbers. I always, you know, and I, I'm always a little tongue in cheek with it, but I always feel like, you know, what we have to lean on is that everybody becomes Israeli. And then, then you get the vote.

[00:14:47] Yeah. And then you get your blocks of power. Yeah. And then you, you get your representation and then you get ultimately your freedom. It's kind of like, uh, Uh, the Irish with the Good Friday Accords with Northern Ireland is you get a representation or a vote. Um, but what's going on in Gaza makes what went on in Ireland look like a cakewalk.

[00:15:10] It's a massacre. Yeah. Yeah, this is uh, This is just doesn't bode well for not only the world, but also for just our country in particular. And it's painful. Um, but it's it's the only way that it will be solved, I think, is you have to really track where the money is going and how much who who is getting who is benefiting from this really financially people always there are always individuals benefiting from war war but the thing is how is history going to judge us right I mean right now and it's over 40, 000 people killed 15, 000 main children I don't know what to say.

[00:15:52] Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's just, we, there's no protests in the streets here. I mean, there were, there was some student, there were some student protests, but they, they shut those down. Yeah. They tamped those down over the summer. Yeah. And they were comparing it to the 1960s, but it didn't get right there. No, it didn't get right there.

[00:16:09] No. Because a war was going on and there was a draft. And, It wasn't our war per se in the sense that, you know, there's not American body bags coming back. That's the key thing. We're indirectly involved, but I'm being my age. I remember a lot of my classmates getting drafted. Sure. You were going to Vietnam.

[00:16:32] Right. So they had to be in the street. If that, if the draft was, Was active right now. You'd see, it would be big. It would be a different thing. And you would see, you'd see more people in the streets, which is a weird way of saying we might be a good thing to have a draft. Uh, I always think that we should at least have a mandatory civil service as part of a draft.

[00:16:53] Yes. Yes. But, um, we're going to take a little break. Uh, and when we come back, we're going to talk more about, uh, the depressing news cycle that we have successfully avoided for about three months. But we're going to, this is an important one because, uh, probably by the next time we are able to get together, we're going to have a new president.

[00:17:14] Yeah. Or an old president. Or an old president. Okay. You're watching Strung Out.

[00:17:46] Jack carries his soul in a turnip shell, in the crook of his arm. Wanders the road alone at night for doing the devil harm. The turnip has two slits for eyes and another for its nose. The mouth is carved as in surprise, for amid his red soul glows. Jack o the lantern, wandering eternity, Jack o the lantern, one appears.

[00:18:09] Jack o the lantern, sign of the cross, for all his people there might be. Jack o the lantern wandering eternity Jack o the lantern on a theocene Jack o the lantern sign of the cross A monster soul that might be lost Jack he was a thieving man The kind the devil cursed Jack fooled the devil to be a coin Kept him in his purse The devil promised Jack He would never live in hell Jack took the devil from his sack Threw him down the well What Jack o the lantern Jack o the Lambton, wonder in eternity, Jack o the Lambton, run if you see.

[00:18:54] Jack o the Lambton, sign of the cross, Or else his soul it might be lost.

[00:19:41] In heaven Peter locked him out, Sent him straight to hell. The devil let out a frightened shout, And locked him out as well. Spirits that see his lantern, Run away with a scream. That's why we carve the pumpkin, Every Halloween. Oh, Jack o the lantern, Run with me to the tree, Jack o the lantern, Run if you see, Jack o the lantern, Sign of the cross, That's all it might be.

[00:20:10] Jack o the lantern, one bring ye twenty. Jack o the lantern, long a feel soon. Jack o the lantern, time of the cross. Cross your soul, you might be lost. Carve your pumpkin scary, A candle you must light. On that evening eerie, We call Halloween night. He'll scare away the demons, Keep them from attack. Tell the devil himself, Take care, it might just be your jack.

[00:20:39] Jack Land E Jack. Cross your soul lost Jack the eter.

[00:20:56] Your soul lost.

[00:21:10] I'm gonna be a jack o lantern man of the E. S. C. Jack o lantern, son of the cross, Cross your soul, it might be lost. Jack o lantern, man of the Eternity, Jack o lantern, rock of the E. S. C. Jack o lantern, son of the cross, Cross your soul, it might be lost.

[00:21:31] Hello, this is Polly Chase presenting artwork by Martin McCormick. This painting, titled Dude, features a mountain range that holds a special place in Marty's heart. On the canvas, which measures 20 by 24, we see the Tetons rising in the hazy distance of a view from an abandoned dude ranch just outside Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

[00:21:56] Near Marty's parents old place, the cool blues and violets of the background complement the buttery yellow foreground. These colors pass the viewer's attention back and forth along the horizontal plane, while the decaying Model T sinks into that scrubby landscape from which the majestic peaks punch upward along the vertical plane.

[00:22:23] It's a quiet yet very moving scene, both artistically and emotionally. It pulls the imagination into a human story waiting to be told, one witnessed by rock that is millions of years old. To explore this painting and more of Marty's artwork, go to martin. mccormick. com.

[00:22:49] We are back on, uh, uh, the vast estate here. I've got my colleague Robert Smith and we are doing the roundup and, uh, we're both in agreement. This has been very, uh, it's, I actually feel physically angst ridden. Um, I don't know how you feel if you feel like under tension. A lot of, a lot of people, a lot of Americans are not sleeping.

[00:23:13] Yeah. You go to bed and this is going on. You wake up in the morning, it's going on. You hear the news reports. Yeah. But, you know, it's easy to just flip the channel and not, like we were saying earlier, it's not like a draft. You know, we don't have to, we're participating indirectly. Uh, we have no control of where our funds go, but we're involved.

[00:23:36] And it's gonna affect us, it's gonna come back to haunt us. What I think is ironic is here we are agonizing with this, this Israeli conflict where we, we, because of our obligations to Israel, we are, it's an open sluice really of funding. Yet here you have a country that's like Ukraine, invaded by an enemy that's historically been an enemy of the United States, you know, and it's like pulling teeth to get the funding for them.

[00:24:06] And. They're actually going to, you know, if, if they win, they will hold Western Europe together, basically. So, in some ways, I find it just, uh, crazy that here we have, uh, and, and this is, again, relatable to Donald Trump. It's like, you know, this whole thing with Putin. Strong man, strong man persona, yeah. And, you know, is there something more behind it?

[00:24:36] Boy, I think if he loses, we have so much to learn and, uh, find out if he loses this election. And, um, and, uh, I think that's, that's, you know, that's, uh, I really hope that he will lose the election just so we can, as a democracy, get our act together. But In the course of this thing with Ukraine, um, you know, there, there, uh, so much money, so much money in the streets.

[00:25:06] Billions of dollars, billions of dollars there, billions of dollars in it. What about the people in the streets of Chican, different states? I mean, people sleeping on the streets and just before I came here, there was a guy driving along Clark. And he stopped me, he wanted to give me his ring, his gold ring for 20.

[00:25:24] Oh my god. He said, I gave him all the way from Canada. This is real. Wow. You know, I'm thinking, I gave him like 10. Yeah. And he said, but I need more. And I'm thinking, of course I was a little skeptical. Sure you are. But there's a woman in the car with him. I'm thinking, what's going on here? Yeah. Yeah. Why does he have to come all the way from Canada?

[00:25:42] Well, that's a good question. I mean, it's living in the city, uh, uh, and, and, uh, maybe we should shift to that because we're not going to solve any of this stuff with the, uh, Israel and Ukraine. We just have to, it's, uh, it's going to grind on, but, uh, but for how long though? I'm getting tired of it. I am too.

[00:26:00] I mean, I think, uh, I think the world is tired of it. But you got these, you got these old white farts. Yeah. That are in power. And I, you know, you got Putin, you got Netanyahu, and you got these, uh, these people like that. You got Trump. You got these people that, uh, they represent an era that should, should be dying now.

[00:26:22] Right? It's amazing and they're still alive. I know. You know, it's like a deal with the devil or something. They're like Mick Jagger. I know. I know. I know. I know. I mean, what if Harris gets in. And she had the guts to say, you know, I'm not sending weapons. But that, that, that conflicts with the NATO treaty, right?

[00:26:38] You attack one, you attack all. Well, Is that, that's what Hillary Clinton was talking about. With Ukraine, uh, With Ukraine, they're not, you know, This is, this is the other loophole. They're, they're not part of NATO. Yeah, right. And, uh, but they might as well be. In fact, had they maybe have been part of NATO, maybe this wouldn't have happened because the deterrence would have been there.

[00:27:00] They did apply, but I think they did apply. And you know, the Western European countries dragged their feet and you know, if, if one thing Trump is right about is that, uh, the European industrialized nations, have leaned on the United States to be the big brother. Yes. And uh, yeah, you know, even Canada has not gotten to two percent military funding.

[00:27:23] Uh, that is the requisite of NATO and uh, two, two percent of their GDP. What does that mean? It means that you and I are paying for it. Yeah. We can't pay for what's going on then in our neighborhood. And our neighborhood, um, I mean, finally. Finally, it looks like a men's shelter is coming in. Yeah. Yeah. Up on Clark.

[00:27:44] Up on Clark Street. Long overdue, and I don't know about you, but I've noticed, um, it seems like there's been, uh, an uptick again in like mentally ill, homeless men. Yeah. Occasionally you'll see women. Yeah. Um, but, uh, I saw a guy in front of the fire station the other day taking, uh, my daughter to, uh, school.

[00:28:08] Naked from the waist down. What? He had pants around his ankles. He was doing something right there in front of the fire station. And, uh, you know, this is mental illness. And this is, uh, the men's shelter, hopefully, will address some of it. But they're limited in space, though. Yeah, it's the tiniest men's shelter.

[00:28:31] Yeah. And it had languished for years. It was like a clinic that has no parking. Yeah. It really points out to me that, uh, you know, even though we're trying to, that, you know, the community can only do so much with so many, with the limitations in farms. And there's really, you know, no way of, uh, of, uh, figuring out what to do because, uh, that I can see aside from, um, cause you can't put these people.

[00:29:06] In a place where you can, um, help. Per se. Right? I mean, that's, that's the challenge. There were protests against that shelter. In fact, some of the people I read, some of the people who protested had been homeless themselves. Yeah. So, I mean, now you're not homeless, but you still don't have any It's the whole Respect for Not in my backyard Yeah.

[00:29:27] Kind of thing, but You know, the, the The truth is, is, you know, uh, they are in our backyard. They're our neighbors. They're our neighbors. And there was a guy, uh, you know, uh, driving back from, uh, my daughter's piano lesson, Anya's piano lesson, uh, you know, here he is, a guy just lying on more sapling. Yeah.

[00:29:49] Lying on the street. Uh, I just think that, uh, we need as a, as a society, but, uh, Yeah. There's got to be a better way of, of, of taking, uh, care of these people. Making sure that they get, first of all, it's, it's, it's mainly, I think, mental illness. They need to get the medication. And knowing people who are medical, you know, have mental illness, it's very difficult because once you start taking the medication, you feel good.

[00:30:22] Then you stop taking the medication. That's kind of a knee jerk reaction. It's like, I don't need this kind of thing. There should be a department specifically dedicated to that, but there isn't. There isn't. And we men, as you mentioned earlier, we don't have the social network that women have. There's been, PBS and other programs have done, talked about how men are not together.

[00:30:43] And you know, turn on the crime, 99 percent of the crime is men. 99 percent of men doing the crime. Young, old, it doesn't matter. Yeah. And, uh, and, and, and it's, You know, with crime, it's not just that segment of the population, too. You know, that's, you're talking about a bigger, uh, issue that lies in American society, and that is, yeah, that men, uh, Tend to be more violent.

[00:31:07] They tend to be more violent. You don't have the social structures that are necessary for men to be able to, uh, sit and, uh, work out their problems. Um, They don't have the family support. Maybe there's no family at all. Right. We don't really know. Right. You really don't know. Like the guy you saw on the street, what's his story?

[00:31:24] What's his story? Yeah. And that's where I think, you know, that's, that's beautiful you said it. Because that's where the humanity comes in. Yeah, yeah. What, I mean that Why are you sleeping on the streets? Yeah, what is your story? Who are you? Yeah. Where did you come from? Yeah. Like that guy that's trying to sell the ring.

[00:31:39] Yeah. You know, and what do you do? You, you say, you know, you ask yourself, well, you know, am I enabling this person by giving this guy ten bucks? Or am I just doing the right thing? That's, that's part of the, the, the burden that's shifted on to a society too, because if there was a comprehensive thing, even like a voucher system, I thought, you know, what if you were able to buy vouchers to like Dunkin Donuts that would entitle a person, the bearer to have a cup of coffee in the donut.

[00:32:11] As silly as that sounds. Now, now you have some sort of structure in which these people can, you know, be directed, but it's going to take more than that. Once upon a time we had, uh, mental hospitals and that, that necessarily wasn't the right way either. But what do you do? Yeah, I don't think you can, I don't think it's working with medicating people and setting them out on the street.

[00:32:33] No, you can't, you can't do that. And then some of the shelters, the men are not there all day. They have, they leave, they go look for work, whatever they need and they have to be back at a certain time. And I think they're there for a specific amount of time. Well, that's, I think part of the challenge of this is that, uh, you know, the, the government, uh, those are some of the rules that are put in there.

[00:32:54] You have to look for work, you have to, you know, um, uh, It's going to take more than that. There are people who I see, there are people I see can handling like on Morris Avenue there for years. Yeah. Same woman, same guy, same guy. Something's wrong. They're going on, you know, and what do you do with them? I don't know.

[00:33:13] Maybe they don't want to work. Well, and maybe they are successful. I, I wonder sometimes, uh, if, if, um, you know, uh, how much, What kind of money that brings in? Because sometimes you see some organized, it seems organized, where I've noticed a bike on McCormick Boulevard where there will be a person working and then like a supervisor, somebody comes in and changes them out.

[00:33:39] So then you're like, you know, uh, you're, you know, not knowing the full situation. I'm like, well that's, that's, that seems strange to me. Um, That doesn't say that they're not there for a legitimate reason. Um, they obviously are trying to get money, but let's, let's talk about the other issue that, uh, is still pervasive in the city and, uh, ties up nicely with our election, uh, the national election, and that is the immigration issue.

[00:34:11] Um, I heard it's easing up a little bit. They closed two shelters in Chicago. Yes. Cause it's easy. I want you to know what you thought of that. I mean, did you, do you feel like that's, I mean, why are they closing these shelters when we have people that need to be put in shelters? Less people are coming in, they're saying.

[00:34:28] Yeah, immigrants. I still see them on, in front of the Target stores. Yes. Sometimes in front of Jewel, but I'm, I'm actually seeing less immigrants on the streets. Did you notice though the, uh, those people that are begging? Yeah. How different they are from the other, I mean, there's definitely an immigrant thing.

[00:34:47] Yum. One thing I saw that was, uh, again on McCormick Avenue, I, I, uh, saw a guy come out into the traffic, uh, and he was juggling, putting out his cap. And I was like, I've never seen that before. No kidding. And, uh, you know, and, but that was something very reminiscent of like seeing down in Costa Rica. Okay. Or something where somebody would, you know.

[00:35:11] They're performing something. Yeah, I'm going to perform, you know, it's like the old, let me, you know. Yeah. Whether you like it or not. I'm cleaning your windshield. Yeah, you know kind of thing, but um It's uh, those people are there Families, whole families. Yeah, thank you. Yes that's that's One of the one of the one of the immigrants I saw in front of the target I recognized her daughter because she was at the school.

[00:35:37] Oh the school that I She remember me and I remember giving 20, but they couldn't give me 20 The next day I went to school and I said to the teacher who's classroom she was in, I saw such and such. I didn't remember her name, but I described her. Right. And she said, oh my god, you know, it's just, but you know what?

[00:35:55] I'm not an expert on it, but there are policies that we have done to these South American countries that causes people to come here. Yeah. Rigging the, uh, you know, rigging elections. Yeah. Wars, you know, funding under, you know, underground groups, the whole bit. And they come here. We're part of it. We're part of the problem.

[00:36:12] We're part of the problem. And again, it comes down to, you know, follow the money trail, even if it's an old money trail. Yeah. Yeah. We create a lot of banana republics down there too. So we could eat bananas in this country. Um, and now, you know, we're kind of reaping the whirlwind in the sense that anytime there is economic chaos, um, in some of these poor countries like Honduras and Guatemala, yeah, they're going to come up.

[00:36:38] Uh, we have a lot of Venezuelans, uh, but that's, you know, Maduro's regime. Exactly. Um, he squelched democracy and again, you're getting into the geopolitical thing. It's complicated. And he's still in power even though we know the election was rigged. Rigged. And we're not, the United States, the United States government recognized that he's, he shouldn't be the president.

[00:37:04] But what are we going to do? What are you going to do? We can't do anything. I mean, unless you go to war. And then why do you go, why do you want to go to war? I don't want to do that. Because you're going to create a refugee crisis that's even bigger. I know. But we also have, uh, coming over the border a lot of illegal Chinese.

[00:37:19] Oh. And it's so, you know, the, the border situation, uh, to, to say, oh, there's no problem with either border, the northern or southern border, is, is to be wearing blinders. But You're not going to be able to build a wall. No. You're not, it's going to have to take a much more, uh, uh, bureaucratic process of vetting and processing.

[00:37:47] I always felt like, instead of having the processing over the border, we should be setting up processing councils in any country that's willing to have it. So, in other words, you know, if I was thinking, oh, I want to go to the United States. Yeah. I would go to this thing and I would say, I want to apply for asylum.

[00:38:05] Um, I don't know if it's possible, maybe they'd get killed, but, uh, but the idea that trying to treat it with a little bit of dignity, so these people are not going, uh, you know, uh, and being, uh, every step of the way abused by mules, coyotes, uh, raped, I mean, extorted for money. Um, we had, we had an immigration process, uh, policy in hand.

[00:38:33] And it was bipartisan. Trump made a phone call. Mike Johnson squashed it. Because he did not want to give any juice to Biden. Isn't that terrible? This guy's not even a president and he makes one phone call and Mike Johnson railroads the whole thing. In my understanding, they had the votes and they were gonna go.

[00:38:52] You're absolutely right. And the Republicans, they don't care. Right. They don't, you know, they want to stay in office. Do you think we're gonna see a third party, a new party? I mean, uh, uh, Liz Cheney, uh, Adam Kinsinger, all these people are kind of. I like, I like Adam Kinsinger. Yeah. I've seen him before. He's, he's real Republican.

[00:39:08] Yeah. As I like to call him. Um, you know, we need to have, uh, there needs to be, if we're going to have a two party system, you've got to have a, a, a working Opposition, I don't care what side. But they've been trying, they've been trying to create it. Kissinger was on Jimmy Kimmel. Yeah. And he was saying that he has gotten, he got a certified letter from a relative that you're no longer my cousin.

[00:39:30] Oh yeah. No, he's been kicked out of his family. Exactly. Because of this guy, because of Trump. I mean, it's sad, but that's, uh. Even his, when he was in the, I think the Air Force, he said the guy he flew helicopters with, or airplanes, told him to get lost. Yeah. He says, I fought in the war with this guy and he's, you know, what does that tell you?

[00:39:48] Same thing is happening with Tim Walz. I, you know, with his, his military, you know, the people that he worked with in the Minnesota National Guard there, there are people that are loyal to Trump and they, they are going to be loyal to Trump regardless. And, uh, and the, it's that time on the program where we make predictions, Robert.

[00:40:08] Yeah. So let's pretend we're sitting here and it's November 6th. Yes. What do you predict on November 6th? I suspect that uh, Harris will win. Maybe not by a landslide, but she will win. I think she will win. People are tired of Trump and they want some sanity in the government. I really think that she's going to win.

[00:40:28] She has incredible support. If she loses, I'm going to be shocked because of the Republican support that's behind her. So, I mean, that's my prediction. I can't see. Her not losing. Yeah. You know? Yeah. I think she's gonna win. I think she's gonna win. Uh, like you said, it's, it's not, I will be thrilled if it's a landslide.

[00:40:49] Yeah. But I'm not holding my breath. I think she's going to be, uh, she's going to win. Um, Mexico's already set the precedent on this, uh, hemisphere by having a female president. Yeah, oh my goodness, yes. And so now, you know, it's, it's, it's high time the United States came in with, uh, not only, uh, a female president but a woman of color.

[00:41:10] Yeah. And, uh, Who happens, you know, she can be Indian one day and black the other. Yeah, that's right, that's right, that's right, that's right. So it's magic. That's right, exactly. Oh my. Exactly, exactly. You know, it's just sad that here we are, you know, almost a quarter of the century expired. And, um, we're still dealing with this crap from the 19th century.

[00:41:31] Yeah. That's the way that the world turns, I guess. Um, any predictions in Chicago? Uh, anything that you see coming in? I don't know. I haven't been following with Brandon Johnson. Yeah, he's having, he's uh, I understand the entire CPS board is going to resign. Yeah. You know, he handpicked these people. Right.

[00:41:51] So, I don't know what's going to happen with that. Well, you know, this is the first time that we're actually going to have school board elections, right? Right, right. So that's a, that's a step forward, I think, instead of handpicking. But, um, what are they, what are they revolting over with him? I guess, my understanding, the current, uh, CEO of this, uh, I got, I think has his name, the, uh, Latino brother, he, uh, Menendez.

[00:42:18] I think, I think that, um, Brandon Johnson wanted him to take out a loan or some kind of, you know, for the billion dollar shortfall and he refused to do it. Ah. That's a big, that's a big part of it. And he said that, I don't know, I'm hearing two different stories, he said he didn't want to force him out, but he's asking the board to fire him.

[00:42:39] I don't, I don't know who's telling the truth or not, but the bottom line, his hands are tied and here we are, the CPS, the school board's behind the current president. I don't know what's going to happen. Um, is it, uh, is that tied to pensions, you know, or anything like that? Yes, it is tied to pensions. And because my kids are not in public school anymore, I don't follow it as much, but it does, it will have an effect on us.

[00:43:01] It's a perennial problem that we have not only with, uh, Chicago, but the state of Illinois that we have these people that are living longer and they're drawing pensions. And so, always there's a bunch of shortfall and ultimately, I don't know how much more. You and I can pay to make up the shortfall. And you're a homeowner, so your property tax is going to go up.

[00:43:23] And it's going up, up, up, up. Yeah. And so it's, um, it's extremely difficult to, uh, to, to try to figure out how you make ends meet in Chicago. Don't get me wrong, it's the greatest city on earth. Yeah. Um, we have our problems, but, uh, Yeah, we have our challenges, it's true. But, you know, uh, it's a great city, and so, um, I'm rooting, uh, It's true.

[00:43:44] I'm rooting for, uh, I guess with, uh, that issue, I'm rooting for a third way. I just wish maybe the federal government would kind of step in or something to, to help, uh, to help with this budget shortfall because it seems like this is something that's going to, we're just not going to be able to. We can't undo it unless we build up our cities.

[00:44:06] You know, we've got to build up the neighborhoods. But I'm sure there's other cities, I'm not following, because I know there's a lot of other cities that have the same problem. Same problem. So, you know, this is a, this is a, probably an issue that we should look in more, maybe next time we'll come back and we'll have a better idea.

[00:44:20] Whether this is a national big urban model, but, um, in the meantime, the good news in Chicago is a murder rates down murder rates down across the United States under this current administration. And, uh, the economy is booming in this current administration, even though there are people that are suffering, uh, the homeless and such, um, you know, it seems like, um, It just needs to be more effective legislation to help, uh, these people and empower us people.

[00:44:55] Yes. To help them. I think is the biggest thing. What about the break ins? Have you been following that? No, but Stores, you know, stores have been, uh You mean like professional break ins? Exactly, exactly. Retail stores have been broken like one o'clock, two o'clock in the morning. It's like organized crime.

[00:45:10] guys, they got it on video. These guys have masks and they're breaking in. It's happening all over the place. Yeah, I, I think, uh I think a lot of that is just, uh, organized gang related kind of easy way to make money. Um, if I was to try to glean anything good out of it, uh, maybe, uh, maybe the drug trade's down.

[00:45:30] Donald may be cracking on fentanyl so that they're trying to go in and, uh, rob a jewelry store. Yeah, you can't sell marijuana on the streets anymore. I mean, you can, but it's You can, but that killed something, right? Yeah, exactly, exactly. So they're, they're gonna try to resort to something else. And the fentanyl trade Uh, just watch.

[00:45:48] That's going to be cracked down. So much of that's coming in from China. And I was just reading that a lot of that is just a loophole. That's right. With the carrier cruisers. CP, I think 60 minutes we're talking about that. Yeah. A lot of it's coming from China. China? Yeah. And then the, uh, it's, it's shipped.

[00:46:07] To like a, a driver then, um, that a private delivery driver legally can drive the components over the border to Mexico to the cartel. Yeah. So that is a loophole that's going to have to be fixed until we can get control over fentanyl. Then, um, you know, we're always going to continue to have a drug problem.

[00:46:28] Uh, you know, and some of these homeless people, uh, you know, they're unsung. Yeah. And when they're walking right down the street, it's, it's, uh, they don't see any traffic or whatever. And you, you know, the glassy eyed thing. Um. Didn't the, uh, the actor that was on Friends, what's his name, Matthew, uh? Um, Perry.

[00:46:46] Perry. Didn't he die from? He died from getting, uh, uh, an overdose prescription from a doctor who's gonna go to jail, I think. Or is on, in trial, pled guilty. Yeah. Okay. So, um. You know, it's, it's, uh, it's not just a poor man's problem. Michael Jackson doctor. Michael Jackson. I think Prince was offended in the same way.

[00:47:03] Prince, yeah, was on some sort of pain since he was a Christian scientist. You know, uh, there's a loss. Uh, I still miss Prince. Yeah. I feel like, uh, you know. But, uh, that's, I think we'll, we'll cap it off there for the, uh, where we're at. Hopefully when we come back. We will have some good news. Yes, it is depressing.

[00:47:29] There are good things happening in the world and maybe the next time we talk we should talk about those things, just good things. It's hard to find but there are good things going. We should bring a list. We're going to make a list for the next round up on the good things happening in this world. I'm going to hold you to it, I'm going to hold me to it.

[00:47:43] Yes, yes. So we'll come back after November 5th because we're going to have a lot to talk about. So I'm Marty McCormick. I'm Robert Smith. And you are on strong. Out. Thank you for listening. For more information about this show or a transcript, visit martinmccormack. com. While there, sign up for our newsletter.

[00:48:06] See you next time on Strung Out.