Get Off My Lawn! - The Mad Ramblings of a Gen X-er
"This is the true story of a Gen X-er picked to do a podcast and give his personal views on Pop Culture, Politics, Sports, News and more, So find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real. - ‘Get Of My Lawn’ As we grow into an ever changing world and new Generations are born, only one stays the same with their distain for all others - ‘Gen X’. We survived riding bikes without helmets, No cell phones, understanding you go home when the street lights go on. We lived through Hair Metal and watched the birth of Grunge. We witnessed ‘Two’ Bush’s become President (That’s what she said.) and the First African American take office. We watched in horror as the Towers fell and rejoiced at the Socialize Digital Age. (‘The Internet’ - Sorry Al you didn’t invent it.)But all in all, We lived our lives with the understanding that playing it safe is not the way to go through your existence. As the world is facing more turmoil than we have every seen before and as we witness a clear division of our Society a voice of ‘reason’ and ‘sanity’ needs to be heard. To bad that ain’t me … Hear me ramble daily about everything from Pop Culture, Politics, Sports, News and more and get the clear as ‘Mud’ perspective of this Rambling Gen X-er. Enjoy!
Get Off My Lawn! - The Mad Ramblings of a Gen X-er
Aliens, Drones, and Panic! New Jersey's Modern-Day 'War of the Worlds' & The Sporting World’s Untold White Privilege Playbook
Can a tale from 1938 ripple into the digital age, sparking fear and fascination? Picture Orson Welles' infamous "War of the Worlds" broadcast, which had New Jersey residents in a frenzied panic over an alien invasion. Now, fast forward to 2024, where New Jersey skies host a new mystery: large drones causing a stir and a storm of speculation. From theories of tech moguls like Elon Musk orchestrating aerial experiments to whispers of foreign interference, we unravel how this modern-day phenomenon echoes the past, with government officials scrambling to reassure the public reminiscent of those old radio days. Join us as we navigate this intriguing narrative, weaving together cultural references, historical parallels, and the very real anxiety such sightings invoke.
Switching gears, we tackle the complex issue of white privilege within sports, a realm that should, ideally, be a merit-based sanctuary. We delve into the pressures athletes face to conform, the judgment they endure, and the societal biases that seep into the locker rooms. Challenging the notion that sports are an equalizer, the episode sheds light on personal stories of athletes who face bullying and a lack of support despite their talent. We reflect on whether performance should truly be the sole criterion for acceptance and success, and how fame and societal expectations often skew this ideal. Through engaging and honest conversations, we aim to uncover the truth behind talent and the societal biases that athletes navigate in their careers.
What you just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to.
Speaker 2:it is now dumber for having listened to it. You don't know what that ought is, mr Trash, I'd show you. But I'm too old, I'm too tired, I'm too fucking blind.
Speaker 1:If I were the man I was five years ago.
Speaker 3:I'd take a flamethrower to this place.
Speaker 4:Do you understand the words that are coming out of?
Speaker 1:my mouth. You want answers. I think I'm entitled. You want answers, I want the truth.
Speaker 3:You can't handle the truth. We've said it once, we've said it twice, we've said it a million times the truth shall always set you free. It's time to get off my lawn the mad ramblings of a TEDx show. Oh, we got to talk about the drones in the sky, lucy in the sky with diamonds. We also have to talk about Caitlin Clark and the WNBA and a bunch of other topics. We took a little bit of a sabbatical after the Trump win Because, like Bruce Springsteen, who's supposed to be leaving the country, the boss is back, oh, and not a moment too soon.
Speaker 3:October 30th 1938. Orson Welles that was his famous War of the Worlds radio broadcast. It was on CBS Radio Network. That's the infamous episode that basically incited panic riots, a vigilantism convincing a lot of the members of his audience that Martians have invaded Grover's Mill, new Jersey. You heard the story. I lived not too far from that area, so you always heard the stories. Because I don't know. I think it's still there and I think it's a landmark.
Speaker 3:There is like a tower in Grover's Mill. It was on a farmer's land. I don't know if it was a water tower, no, but it was this large tower and residents drove down to Grover's Mill in 1938 with shotguns in hand and started taking matters into their own hands, looking for the alien invasion, looking for the alien horde, defined the tower. They shot the tower. Then they literally had to um, you know, they had to come out and say, listen, guys, this, this isn't real. This isn't real. There was a news conference that was put together next morning Cause you gotta remember, this is 1938. And they basically had to say hey, you know what Orson Welles had to say, listen, it didn't really happen. You know. Just, you know, it was just a radio show and I love it because people don't understand that. You know, you remember Orson Welles, some people do. I was mad, but he was only 23 when this happened and this was off an HG Welles novel, very famous author.
Speaker 3:But it caused this panic, it incited the New Jerseyans to take up arms. Well, back in 2024. Now the same thing is happening. There's lights above the New Jersey skies, in and around Dover, new Jersey, now going through Pennsylvania, now going through New York. These are drone sightings.
Speaker 3:A lot of residents are saying these drones are the size of an SUV and they're seeing dozens of them at a time at night, all different directions. We have one Jersey Shore realtor named James Ward said he saw above a bunch of drone-sized SUVs above Island Beach State Park on Sunday. He said it was difficult to judge the size but he showed a video of numerous lights in the sky Lucy in the sky with diamonds, and I love it because then he posted this video and you had a lot of people saying you know what A good shot. The gun will fix that problem. Semi-automatic three-inch Magnum 00 buck full choke, said another reply on his Twitter post. They seem to be over the shore of Tom's River, New Jersey. They seem to be over Trump's golf course.
Speaker 3:The Democratic mayor, phil Murphy, had a was going to have a press conference a couple days ago to discuss everything that was going on to dissuade the fears of New Jerseyans and everyone else. But the funny thing is a lot of lawmakers showed up, the press showed up. Governor Murphy didn't show up to his own press conference in New Jersey. There's a call from two Republican congressmen saying the federal government should shoot down these unidentified drones in safe areas. Of course the FAA's regulations prohibit, of course, the unsafe operations, aircraft manned or not manned. So we're all trying to figure out where these drones are coming from. The Coast Guard is saying that they are going over, they're coming from over the water. There is talk and speculation, of course, that there is a ship from Iran off the coast sitting there waiting, launching these drones investigating.
Speaker 3:You have some people saying that these are a government design program. And I love it because you have the likes of John Kirby and I'm trying to see if I have the audio clip. I don't have the audio clip, but John Kirby, of course, came out and said we have not been able to, and neither have state or local law enforcements, collaborate any reports, any of the reported visual sightings. I love it. This has been going on for 19 days. To the contrary, upon review of the film imagery appears that many of the report sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being fully operated lawfully. There is no report or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted airspace.
Speaker 3:Yes, because this is the same people that we had a Chinese spy balloon flying over the country for a month, before they finally said, oh, yeah, yeah, you know what. A month before they finally said, oh, yeah, yeah, you know what. They're flying over military installations, they're gathering information. We can't block their transmission, but there's nothing to worry about. This federal government. This version of the federal government is terrible, is god awful.
Speaker 3:And then you hear that the branches of the military their drone counterintelligence. They only spent about a half a million dollars on drone counterintelligence and on the entire military budget out of the Department of Homeland Security budget they only spent about a half a million dollars. And then the question is if these are just unmanned aircraft, how come the FAA is not seeing them on radar? I'm not saying they're Martians, but these are people that seem to be unlawfully using unmanned aircraft in spaces above New Jersey and you kind of have to sit there and think about it for a second. I mean, really, you have hundreds of videos. It's not like the War of the Worlds, which was in 1938, where you sat there and you couldn't verify this information unless you drove down there to Grover's Mill Pond and saw everything that was going on. You can't, I've seen these videos and saw everything that was going on. You can't, I've seen these videos. They're kind of a little strange.
Speaker 3:You have a former United States Air Force colonel basically saying listen, hey and this was on CNN this is Colonel Cedric Leanington. He says stop telling the guard and residents to not believe your own eyes. Speculation, of course, is going to run rampant when you do not give the public any information and, like I said, we don't need I am so I cannot wait till this administration has gone on January 20th, because these people are just terrible. I mean, like I said, john, the national security spokesman, john Kirby I always love him. There's only 3,000 plus reports of car-sized drones hovering in the night sky for the last several weeks. But you know what's funny? You don't believe that, don't believe what you're seeing. No, close your eyes, close your eyes. Us Representative Jeff Van Drew this week sounded the alarm Of course we talked about that when he made the bombshell claim that a highly reliable source basically told him that the drones are coming from an Iranian mothership stationed off the shore. Now that the Pentagon quickly shut down and said no, no, no, no, no, no. That's not the truth, but we're not going to give any other explanation, we're not going to give any other findings or to say that's not true. They're basically telling the American people that you can't believe your own eyes and you're stupid. If this is some type of military function by us, you can literally say that's okay.
Speaker 3:There was a township over, of course, in New Jersey police scanner and this was a couple of days ago. There was on Thursday actually at 847, a learning officer officers to a suspected drone crash. He said the drone came down in a resident's backyard. The 911 dispatch says it's a small one, Lights are blinking and it has a tail on it. The audio clip then opens up sources of police scanners that suggest the police were alerted to another drone that was brought down by power lines in Morris County, new Jersey, at 9.35 pm as well.
Speaker 3:This has turned into a little bit of a war of the worlds. This is when people get hurt. This is when people take things into their own hands. 3,000 drone sightings in New Jersey since December. This is crazy. You had literally 43 sightings in Morris County, new Jersey. Hunterton, new Jersey, had 180. Somerset 165. 189 for Monmouth, and the list goes on. Some people are saying that maybe it's Amazon, maybe it's Elon Musk testing out a new delivery method, and I love it because again they're telling residents you didn't see this.
Speaker 3:Ari Perez, 26-year-old she is animate. She saw a drone flying over Wayne, new Jersey, on Thursday. She said it's freaking me out, but of course the government's saying no, no, no, no, ms Perez, you didn't see shit. You saw nothing. I see nothing, nothing. Those lights in the skies are nothing you need to worry about.
Speaker 3:Everyone forgets Not everyone forgets, because they always say never forget. Everyone forgets Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor, the United States government lost Now this is back in the day, of course, where you didn't have the facilities, it's 1941 but they were. You know, they still tracked, excuse me, the japanese fleet, the imperial japanese fleet, and then somehow they lost the japanese fleet, the american navy. They couldn't find them anymore and there was talk and speculation by some people in command in the military, in the navy, that the fleet was heading towards pearl and we had most of our navy station there and that, you know, it was one of those things that, um, you know, they were basically poo-poo, they were basically laughed at that they say you know, japan wants to be our friends, here's some friendship medals. But somehow they were basically laughed at that. They said you know, japan wants to be our friends, here's some friendship medals, but somehow they were still following the strike group and they lost them in the Pacific. And at that point in time people were, you know, people were saying that these people who were predicting this, who said this was going to happen. These military intelligent people that they were crazy. Again, you're crazy. We lost the fleet. No, no, our ships are well protected in Pearl and we know how that came out in Day. That Will Live in Infamy, december 7th 1941.
Speaker 3:If this is nothing, the American government should just come out and say it's nothing. If this is a military application being used for these drones, that's fine, but, like I said, we are so far behind on counter measures for drones it's not even funny. We still rely on, basically, radar detection systems from the 60s and the Cold War. And if this is the case, and literally, like I said, why can't anyone just follow these drones? You have police cops and it's amazing. They were saying that there's a military base not too far away from where these happen, but when they scramble helicopters, the drones are already gone and for some reason, like I said, the United States government, the FFA, they can't track the frequency of these drones. How do you lose a SUV-sized drone over the sky? And residents were saying that if a drone was flying over their head and they took a flashlight and shined it on the drones, all the lights would go off on the drone.
Speaker 3:That seems a little spooky to me at times. It seems a little strange to me at times, but you know what this version of the United States government just wants to tell you. You're all fucking crazy. No, no, no, no. Listen, that big balloon that everyone can see and everyone's taking pictures of. No, no, no, no, no, that's nothing. That's not a Chinese spy balloon going over our military bases extremely slow that we could have shot down numerous times. No, no, no, no, no. But I love it because this is our United States government.
Speaker 3:Those drones are manned aircraft. Okay, so it's easy to prove that they are manned aircraft. Why are there so many sightings then? Why is there so much misinformation? You kind of have to have this feeling that if they are going out over the ocean, they're landing somewhere in the ocean. And these drones, if you take a look at them, they are these large drones and they have these tails. They're right.
Speaker 3:50 of the drones, are saying, came in from the ocean. At least 12 were trailed by United States Coast Guard ships, so they came out from over the ocean. This was on Sunday night. They're reporting that a 47-foot Coast Guard boat basically tracked another 50 drones coming in onto the land from the ocean. This was coming in from New Jersey Representative Chris Smith, who has been the representative for New Jersey for years, even since I was in high school. Authorities did confirm, though, that the drones were not coming from local military bases, but for some, they're coming in from over the ocean. In addition, we were told by the Coast Guard that there's a 44 ship, and the 47-foot ship in the ocean was trailed by about 12 to 30 drones. That's pretty serious that you have drones trailing US Coast Guard cutters.
Speaker 3:There is, like I said, it used to be McGuire, it used to be Dick's Air Base. Now it's, now it's. It used to be McGuire's, but it used to be McGuire's, and it was McGuire's Dix, and now it's McGuire's Dix, lakehurst. It's, there's. There is a base right there, and they ask why can't military authorities just shoot these things down? And, like I said, but we have been told quite vehemently, these are not something's got to give, something's got to give with this and some information has to go out.
Speaker 3:Kaylin Clark of the WNBA the WNBA is one of the biggest jokes in the world. It really is, and I'm not trying to be mean, I'm not trying to be facetious, I'm not trying to be hurtful, but if you ever watched the WNBA, it's at times unwatchable. Angel Reese has come out and said hey, listen, you know what? They're not just here to see one person, they're here to see me too. They're here to see you grab three offensive rebounds in a row, angel, that are all off your own misses. I would rather watch high school JV basketball boys, high school JV basketball than watch the WNBA. I tried to watch it. I tried to watch all sports I did. But now Kayla Clark is coming out talking about her white privilege and how she is the Times Athlete of the Year and how her white privilege is showing and how the WNBA was built off the backs of black players. Oh my God, when is the wokeism going to end? I mean, this is literally so sad. You have a player who has come in and revitalized the WNBA.
Speaker 3:The WNBA most people do not know is subsidized by the NBA, by NBA owners. This league loses millions. I think last year, even with Kaitlyn Clark, it still lost like $300 million and the players are complaining that they only make like $87,000 a year, that they should be paying a fair share, like their brethren in the NBA. How it's all. How it's all about revenue and revenue sharing. Well, that's a great point because if you break down the revenue that the WNBA makes compared to the money that they lose and divide that by the number of players in the league, you should be paid. I believe the number was I think we figured it out like negative $67,000 a year because you don't bring in any money and you finally have a player that comes in.
Speaker 3:It's a Larry Bird moment. Some people compare the Larry Bird Magic Johnson coming to the league to the Angel Reese and Kaitlyn Clark coming to the league. My problem is Angel Reese is no Magic Johnson, not even close. She's a brick-a-thon. But instead you have people that are attacking Kaitlyn Clark for getting press. She only won the Rookie of the Year. She only put up record numbers of stats, but that's okay. She has been a pariah by some of her African-American teammates and competitors, so now she's got to come out and apologize to Time Magazine for being white. Wow, you finally have someone that's bringing attention to the league. You finally have someone that's bringing fans into the seats. Before, one of your star marquee players was Cheryl Miller and she was only really well-known. She did play basketball well, but she was more known for being Reggie Miller's sister, the great indiana guard. But now you finally have someone to capture attention, you let yeah, I gotta hold on, can we?
Speaker 4:let's listen to this, let's listen. Yeah, you know your announcement for athlete of the year like tremendous, incredible positive feedback. That's what we've seen across the board. There's always going to be some negativity and I feel like you have had to answer more questions than anybody about the intersectionality of race and gender and sexuality in sport, because of just who you are and you represent the growth of this thing.
Speaker 3:I like sexuality in sports when it's an all-woman sport in sports when it's an all-woman sport.
Speaker 4:Even today, earlier today, megyn Kelly, she was saying that you were apologizing for your white privilege and the fact that you wanted to uplift black female athletes and make sure that they were getting the shine, kind of like your pioneers were getting the shine that they deserved, and I just want to know how you feel, pioneers?
Speaker 3:in a league that has never made money.
Speaker 4:Respond to some of those criticisms when you have to deal with something that it's really not your problem, Like I feel like it's them looking in a mirror a little bit, but it still comes down on your shoulders.
Speaker 2:I feel like I always have had really good perspective on everything that's kind of happened in my life, whether that's been good, whether that's been bad. And then, obviously, coming to the WNBA, like I've said, I feel like I've earned every single thing that's happened to me over the course of my career. But also, I grew up a fan of this league from a very young age, like my favorite player was Maya Moore, like I know what this league was about and, like I said, like it's only been around 25 plus years, so I know there's been so many amazing black women that have been in this league and continuing to uplift them I think is very important and, um, that's something I'm very aware of. Um, and, like I said, like I try to just be real and authentic and, you know, share my truth and I think that's very easy for me. Like I'm very comfortable in my own skin, um, and that's kind of been how it is my entire life.
Speaker 3:I'm going to share my truth. You're a fucking idiot. Basketball I know it's going to be shocking to people is a predominantly sport that is played by African Americans. The NBA is switching a little bit because you've got a lot of Europeans coming over. So to think the fact that you have to come in the league and lift up black players I'm not sure if more of that's arrogance or stupidity as well. But then to apologize for being who you are, that makes it even worse. That makes it. That makes me even more sad. That makes me not even really even want to watch the WNBA. I, I, I, I wait, wait. This is from Scott Jennings. Hold on, we got to listen to this real quick. This is from CNN.
Speaker 4:I'm not going to listen to the full two minutes. Why is she being bullied? Why is that wrong? Why is she being bullied for acknowledging something that's smart, truth and factual.
Speaker 5:Well, a couple of things. Number one I you know whether you're an athlete or anyone else, if I hear you use the phrase my truth, I immediately then discount everything else you say, because there isn't my truth or your truth, there's just the truth. And when you start using phrases like that, it tells me that your brain has been captured by something.
Speaker 3:I love it because then the woman goes. That's not true. That's my truth.
Speaker 5:Really respect.
Speaker 3:That's not true. Number two that's not true.
Speaker 5:Number two. The attention the league got this year was amazing, and it was all because of her. She is an amazing player. The arenas were full when she played in them. The tv ratings were up when she was arenas weren't full television that's undeniable. But you know, the league still lost like 40 million dollars and it's never made money. And to me, when you're talking about having, uh, respecting people who built something, what did they build? A league that loses money every year.
Speaker 3:But he is, she has the capacity. What do you mean? What do? They build, but that's a great point. What have they built? A league that loses money every year. I love that quote. What have they built A league that loses money every year? That's basically what they built, scott.
Speaker 5:What kind of a business did they build?
Speaker 4:The reason why it's still up and still running whether it's losing money or not is because of these black women.
Speaker 3:Actually no. The reason Zyde's up is to run because the NBA is using it to attract a female fan base over to the NBA. That's why, as businessmen, they're taking a loss on this league.
Speaker 4:No.
Speaker 3:No, stop it.
Speaker 5:I was in Vicky's arena. Who pays for?
Speaker 2:it. Let me just tell you.
Speaker 4:It says more about the people who are getting offended. Stop it now. I was in Vicky's arena. Who pays for it? I was in Vicky's arena. Let me just tell you who pays, one at a time.
Speaker 5:It says more about the people who are getting offended by it than her, I think they're just disappointed that she appears to have been captured by the woke mob.
Speaker 1:You don't like it. And here's the disappointment.
Speaker 5:It's the white privilege.
Speaker 3:By being gracious, she's being gracious. No, she has been brainwashed into saying this because of the fact that she wants to be accepted in her own league.
Speaker 5:I feel, a little bad for her, because she's going to learn that it will never be enough. No matter how much of the phrasing, no matter how much of the groveling you do, it will never be enough for the people in that league that hate her guts.
Speaker 4:Why do you assume they hate her guts? Why do they assume they hate her guts? Why do you assume?
Speaker 3:Why do they assume they hate her guts Because they bullied her? They foul her unconsciously Well, not unconsciously, they fire, they foul her consciously. I've seen some fouls against it and then her own players don't stand up for her. Then there was that one point in time in her own press conference with her own teammates. She was late because she was signing autographs and the two players that were on the podium turned her chair the other way, kaitlyn Clark's chair the other way, because she wasn't there on time.
Speaker 4:Not trying to pander Because I hear the language. It's the language of the pander.
Speaker 5:I hear the phrase white privilege. Sports is the one place where nobody on the field has any privilege at all. There's the point she shoots because she's white. She gets the same number of points as anybody else. Sports is the great equalizer, and it just felt like to a lot of people that she was groveling for no reason.
Speaker 3:She is groveling for acceptance. That's all it is, and that is. Sports is always a great equalizer, because sports is off talent. Except your last name is Bronnie James. Sports is on talent alone. That's how you're judged. Oh, we'll always be judged in life, and we've said it once, we've said it before, we've said it a million times Truth shall always set you free. This is Dennis. Get a pile on the mad ramblings of a Gen Xer and I'm out of here. You.