On scoring lives Ostrodia.
This is the Wider Panale Show.
Good evening and welcome to the Rida Panahe Show. I'm Caroline Druso, filling in for readA tonight and coming up on the show alarming news from the A and Z Bank as it raises concerns about supply chain vulnerabilities. I'll get Adam Crichton on that shortly. Another blow to Labour's green energy dream with a twelve point five billion dollar hydrogen project acted in central Queensland. We'll speak with Liberal
Senator Alex Antick to get his reaction. Plus Senate Republicans vote to advance Trump's big Beautiful bill.
Josh Hammer will.
Join me from the US with his analysis, and Kinsey Schofield will join us to break down all the big news from Jeff Bezos and Laurence Sanchez's luxury wedding in Venice. But first joining me now is IPA Senior Fellow and chief economist Adam Crichton. Adam, let's start with some pretty alarming news here. The A and zaders raised concerns about supply chain vulnerabilities, saying we can't bank.
On food security of all the things. So is this actually a.
Problem, and if so, how did we get here and how do we fix it?
Yeah?
Well, certainly it might not seem like a problem. This Australia does, I think, export roughly three times as much food as it actually consumes itself.
But there are some key.
Vulnerabilities that that report rightly pointed out.
You know, the big one actually being fuel stocks.
We only keep about fixed about fifty six days worth of fuel in Australia. If there was some sort of trade war or or heaven forbid, an actual war, we're supposed to keep ninety days, so that's obviously a big gap there. And critical ingredients to the farming process, such as fertilizer, they come from the Middle East and China. We don't actually make those ourselves. So I think the
AZD is right to point these things out. But I must say I was a bit surprised that the an Z was saying this because as far as I understand it, they are big supporters of net zero, and one of the biggest threats to our food security going forward is actually net zero, because that would mean if we're going to achieve our solar and wind targets by twenty fifty some thirty percent of Australian prime agricultural laran would actually
be covered in solar panels and wind turbines. So that is, you know, the number one problem I would say for our food security, apart from that.
Fuel issue that I just mentioned before.
But certainly we have to scrap the net zero fantasy if we do want to maintain our food security and of course also energy security for that matter as well.
Yeah.
Absolutely, and plenty of the big banks are very much opposed to funding what they fossil fuel related projects, so that there just makes a big issue even bigger than it already is onto the alban Easy labor government, and it's said that a priority for them is big tech paying for news. Now, look, we saw legislation of this nature under the Morrison government. So what's the catalyst for this for labor and how does it differ from what we've seen before.
Well, certainly I'm very sympathetic to this legislation. I think those payments from Facebook and Google to Australia's major media companies have been very important in keeping journalists employed. But it's going to be a very very tricky few months, I would say for the Albanese government on this issue. They are supposedly committed to it, but the tech giants themselves obviously hate it. They don't want to pay this money.
And we've seen in other countries such as Canada. Actually just a few hours ago, we've seen the government there dump a similar piece of legislation to Australia. It's not exactly the same they called it a digital services tax, but it had largely the same effect. And this is something that Donald Trump himself has been railing against. And so the Canadian government has had to dump it to start their trade negotiation.
So who knows what's.
Going to happen in the Australian case, but I must say it's probably something the US is going to balk at when we start our trade negotiations with the US as well.
So that's just what this watched this space.
I mean.
The other issue I think worth mentioning on this is is the Australian publishers have to be careful they wish for is if they do insist on this that if the government, of course insists on this, it may well be the case that Facebook and Google just decided to block to block Australian news entirely which of course they could technically do.
So it's a very fraught area. So you know, I think I think.
We're all for good quality journalism, and like I said, I'm very sympathetic to those payments.
It's just going to be you know, I.
Would say, probably hard to keep them.
Yeah, fair enough, And it will be interesting to see that in those trade negotiations, what makes it through and what goes out in the wash Chalmers and albin Esi, they've already kicked off a conversation about tax reform.
More broadly, I'm not sure.
They can put that genie back in the bottle, and there's conversations about a number of things, including potential changes to the GST.
What are your thoughts on this.
Well, just more broadlyyond tax reform. You think that a second term government would have some idea what it's doing, but they don't really seem to in this regard. They don't seem to have a clear path. I know that there's this so called activity round table coming up. You know we've had you know, we've had dozens of those
over the years. Look, the GST has always talked about you know, most economists say we should increase the rate I'm you know, I'm firmly against that, because once you increase the rate of the GST, it just has a tendency to go up and up again.
I mean, these these gsts, these.
Vats were introduced in Europe in the fifties and sixties, and they started out at low rates, and of course you know now they are at twenty percent in some cases, or even more I think in some countries, and I fear that's what would happen here.
They are a very efficient way to raise money GST gsts.
They're very sneaky, if you like, because you don't know you're paying tax when you go shopping. Of course you know, you theoretically know you are, but you don't actually feel like you're paying tax. And that's why they are such a clever way to raise money. And I worry about it, you know, as someone who supports a smaller government, I don't like highly efficient ways necessarily or sneaky ways to
raise money. I mean, I am more partial if they actually change it to broadening the base and not changing the rate, But I would only support that if every single extra dollar was used to cut income tax. And sadly, I don't think that this sort of government would do that. You know, they have a spending problem ultimately, and they need more revenue. That's you know, that's the big problem. I mean, I think, as Peter Costello said just recently, we don't really have a taxation problem. We have a
spending problem. It's growing far too fast and even faster.
Than braphit creep. So they need to get hold of that first.
Look.
And I have some sympathy for broadening the base run my own business and you know those conversations about what does and doesn't attract GST and whatever. I like the idea of broadening the base from the point that it would simplify it. But your exit point, right, if the money is not going to be spent, well, then you know we need to have another conversation, which is the spending conversation. Now over to the UK and this from the glaston Brief Music Festival over the.
Weekend, theft to the id F, to the i F to the id F.
Now UK political commentator Samara Girl I think she summed it up perfectly with this post on X Nothing says revolution like chanting death to the IDF. Between Tofu wraps and mindfulness sessions no, don't jail the Glastow lot.
Just swap the.
Pyramid stage for Gaza and see how long the moral clarity lasts. Now, the organizers of the festival have condemned the chant, but Adam, it's pretty horrifying. I'm horrified, but not entirely surprised given what we've seen. Do you remember when people at music festivals used to call for peace?
Yes, yes, certainly.
Look, these festivals have just become a forum for you know, whatever the latest elite fat is, and in this case, it's you know, chanting your stupid idiotic slogans like that. You know, I think basically going to reach the point. I know that BBC copped a lot of flak for broadcasting that nonsense. They're going to have to have a ten to fifteen second delay I think on their on their transmission so they can simply block it because that is a form of incitement. Obviously, you know, it has
no place at a music festival. It's it's pathetic and Charlie and let's hope we don't see much more of it, but I'm sure, but I'm sure we will.
I think we will too. Very unfortunately.
Still on the Middle East, conflict in the idea of US claim that it's eliminated one of the Hamas honchos Ha kar Mahammad Issa Alissa.
How big a.
Deal is this, Well, look, I think a reasonably big deal.
I mean the first point I thought here, it's just, you know, the skill of the Israeli defense forces to you just snipe off all of these terrorist leaders has been very impressive, whether it's in Gaza or e Lebanon or in Iran more recently. So you know, full credit to them for doing that. And look, if it brings us closer to peace in the Middle East, that's a good thing.
You know. One less terrorist, I think is a very good thing. You know.
My fear is that they'll just promote someone else into these positions, because you know, there are a lot of crazy, impassioned people on you know, especially on that side. So let's hope that it does bring the region to peace.
But I am skeptical about that as well.
Adam.
I think, you know, you can always put another person into that position. But I think corporate knowledge is just as important for terrorist organizations as it is for any other business or organization.
So let's hope it at the very least slows them down a little bit.
Now, on Friday, the sm P five hundred hit a record high. What's driving this and is this sustainable or are we getting towards the top?
Well, look, I would say it's not entirely sustainable. You always have to be very wary when the stock markets are at record pigs. I'm old enough to remember back in the early two thousands the dot com boom and then of course the dot com bust where markets fell a good twenty five twenty five percent in a few months.
In most economists and.
Financial experts would say that these these levels in the markets are not sustained by fundamentals. It's all driven ultimately by the so called fang stocks, the tech stocks, you know, and the chip stocks, I might add in video they're training at extraordinary multiples. There is a lot of optimism now. And look full credit to Trumpet. You know, he was criticized for his you know, his tariffs. Everyone was saying there's to be high inflation, there was going to be recession.
That has not happened at all yet.
Look at good still, but certainly the forecast from earlier this year about high rates of inflation.
Now falling stock markets. They have not come true at all.
So so Trump has been proved right once again, I would say on this. So let's hope, you know, he continues to be right, because of course it's much better to have a high market than.
A low market.
Yeah, just yesterday Australia received a shot over the bow from the Chinese ambassador to Australia arguing against us increasing our defense spending.
Well isn't that just enough in itself to encourage us to do it?
Well, look, clearly, of course, you know, China does not want us to increase our defense spending, and that's the aim I think of the Chinese ambassador's letter in the Australian his remarks there, because if we increase our defense spending then they're probably going to have to spend more on their as well, and they don't really want to do that. So there's a bit of brinkmanship on both sides.
I do feel sorry for Albo here, the Prime Minister, I should say, anth the Alberinezi, because you know he's yet to have his meeting with Trump. He still hasn't got that meeting, which is rather embarrassing. But of course the Chinese are our biggest customer. You know, without them, you know, we'd have probably.
A dollar in the worth forty cents.
So so it's a difficult position for Australia. Certainly, I think that they should lift defense spending here.
We don't spend enough.
And you know, regardless of whether you agree with US calls to for Australia to increase their defense spending, we simply don't don't spend enough. We have a small population, a huge continent, and you know, we barely have two or three submarines that actually function, let alone an air force. So we need to spend a lot more. The IPA has come out with figure I think three percent. You know, the exact the exact financial figure is of course hard to pick, but we certainly needed.
We need a lot more capability than we currently have.
And I think that's the issue. It's what's the value for the spend. Right, you can spend three percent, but if you're not building what you absolutely need, then it actually really doesn't matter.
And just last, oh, yes, problem I finish.
Sorry, Sorry, no, I was just going to say the problem is when you specify a figure. Of course, the defense contractors can just with their prices per unit, so you don't actually get much more, you just sped more.
Yeah, well that's exactly the point.
And just lastly, and our peding the AFR about malaise approaching economic approach in Argentina label him as.
Going for broke.
Now, look, he's pretty unconventional, but is going for broke working?
Well, yes, I think it is so far. I mean, of course, there are some teething problems. It's been a a huge bang set of reforms over there, but I think the signs are very good so far. I mean the rental market for incis, there's been big falls in rents, big creases in housing supply because he's got rid of a lot of regulations. I mean, the whole point there is to tear up red tape, to tear up green tape,
and that's what he's been doing. I mean, of course, there's the famous picture of him with the chainsaw that pretty much sums up his attitude to changes in regulations, and that's what that country needed. I mean, remember, at the turn of the century, last century, say nineteen hundred, Argentina and Australia the two richest countries in the world.
And of course Argentina got very very poor, and it's still very very poor now, but that it is turning the corner and if anything, we should be inspired by him.
And you know, we need our own Mille here in Australia.
I think otherwise we risk the same fate that befell Argentina last century.
Well, there's definitely a world of warning that maybe a little less regulation can go an awful long way. Thank you so much, Adam Crichton for your insights.
Thanks very much for having me.
Joining me now is Liberal Senator Alex Antique. Alex, I feel like we've come off peak. Welcome to country. Even Quantus is subjecting us to a more truncated version in recent months. You were one of the early objectives to the practice. But gosh, we've seen a few recent examples of some pushback.
Haven We Yeah, look, Carolyn, we have, and I mean it's not particularly surprising. I think the only thing that's surprising is that politics in our institutions take so long catch up to what real Australians are thinking. Been the
thing that's been most stark for me. I mean, we had a bit a noise about this in the Senate chamber two years ago, and I've never seen anything explode in the world of social media more to be quite honest, I mean, it was clearly touching a nerve to suggest that we don't need to be welcome to our own country.
And I think he's a sick of it, you know.
I think whatever the original intent of this was, you know, it's been lost and it now feels quite performative and almost quite forced.
You know.
It feels almost like it's being used.
Now as a way of telling people that they're not on their own land, that they are effectively guests on their own land. And I mean it's not hard to imagine why that would rile people up, you know. I think unfortunately politics doesn't always see these things quickly. We saw that with the Voice. It was very clear Australians didn't want the Voice. It was very clear it was another form of division, and yet it took until the October period where we actually learned that that was the
case in a secret ballot. So I think we're seeing this with Welcome the Country. I was actually on an airline the other day. They didn't do it at all, and it sort of stuck out because I was so used to hearing it. When the plane lands. You know, we thank the traditional owners and so forth, and they
didn't do it. So look, I think we are. My point about this, though, would be that the activist left who push this, and they push it into our boardrooms, into our schools, they will come up with something else. So the interest for me now is understanding what it is, which vehicle they'll hijack next in order to properly push the grievance industry. And if so, let's find out what it is earlily so that we can call it out.
Early and not have to endure years and years of it like we have we Welcome the Country ceremonies.
Yeah, fair enough, Senator Pauline Hanson, she's also long objected to Welcome to Country. She criticized Opposition leader Susan lay for her acknowledgment at Press Club.
Have Listened.
I was disgusted, absolutely disgusted with it because the Liberals, you know they're getting, they're getting acknowledgments. They are the ones that actually opposed to Parliament.
What a load of rubbish that is. Australians.
I'll tell you out there, you are the ones. You are deciding your future and the future of this nation. If you want to put up with this rubbish, this crap, Well, then you are.
To blame for it, Pauline Shai.
As always, I suspect there will be varying views within the party room and that's pretty standard fair for the Liberal Party.
But what's your view on how the Liberal should approach.
These Well, I'm not sure there really is a position for the party per se. I mean, this is something that's done in the private sector and elsewhere. I mean I'm not comfortable with it appearing as often as it does in government ranks through the bureaucracy. I think that's something that could could be discussed as being removed.
But I mean it's up to each individual person.
Of course, there are divergence of views on the issue inside the party and that's completely fine. My own personal view is that I don't like it and I don't like seeing it as often as we do, and also I don't understand what it's actually doing for Aboriginal people. I want someone who blame to me how this helps and if it doesn't, then it's performative. And we always hear from the left how the right of politics only talks about the culture wars. Well, you know, you can't
have it both ways. So you know this is really doing some good for Aboriginal people, then let's hear it. Let's find out how otherwise my preference is to stay away from it.
Yeah, fair enough.
And an interesting story in the e is about the king Makers in the Senate during the last parliament, how they plan to take on Labor this time around. You obviously sit in that chamber. What's their strategy and will it work well?
I read the article that I read the comments, and I think that's just the real politic of it, in the sense that the last term, I think all of them were involved in pretty serious discussions with the government about the passage of legislation throughout the Senate chamber, and at one time or another may have held the balance of power.
I think.
So it's going to be a very difficult landscape or different landscape for these cross bench senators. The wash up of it is that Labor really just need the Greens in order to pass legislation, which is in.
Itself a worry.
I mean, you know, in many respects we might have to look back to the good hotels of having the last parliament, of having the cross bench control in the show they did a very good job, I might say, by shooting down the misinformation laws, and we're very sensible on that and probably many other things as well. But now in this case they're going to have to find
another way through for relevance. They have said, and David Pocock has said that using the media and using their voice that way is the way to do it.
And I think that's what we'll see. I think we'll see more and more.
Statements in the Chamber, more and more statements in the media, and that is there absolute right and that's what our democracy is all about.
Yeah, O one hundred percent agree with that, and it'll be very interesting to.
See what that looks like over the course of the term.
Now Tony Burke, he appears to be walking both sides of the street again, this time is blaming the High Court for making it too hard to debat some immigrant criminals.
How much is it the High Court and how much is it just a lack of political will to deal that well, Like, I.
Think this is always a point of interest where you have politicians who are in government, by the way, just for the sake of the argument, we should just really who have the ability the legislative ability to do pretty much what they like now and to sort of lean into the argument that somehow this is the High Court's fault is utterly ludicrous. Frankly, I mean, it just doesn't make sense.
The only thing you.
Could say is that we're in a hiatus with Parliament at the moment. There's not the ability to pass laws now. But look, we've heard this before with the arguments about the courts do this and the courts do that. The reality is is the government's job, one of its primary jobs, to keep Australian safe in their own country and we expect that out of our Immigration minister. Any finger pointing, any blame is simply not acceptable. So I don't accept
that at all. If the Government thinks there's something that should be done, they should be doing it themselves, not blaming the High Court.
Now onto the least surprising story of the day, and a twelve point five billion dollar Central Queensline hydrogen project has been acted. The boondoggles abiding the dust pretty hard, aren't they at the moment?
Yeah, and it's look, I mean it's it's sort of, as you say, the least surprising thing you could hear, and it's reassuring in one sense, except that you know, we're still, of course through through the political spectrum making the same mistakes every single day with intermittent power, green and you know so called green power, solar and wind.
But yes, this is the first one. And of course those of us.
That have always said let's let the market decide what's good power and what's bad power just shake our heads at this.
This was never going to work.
And in fact these things have a habit of these green hydrogen so called green hydrogen propositions seem to get no further past than feasibility studies, and the private sector drops them. So I mean this is the this is the issue with this so called intermittent renewable power is it really doesn't stand on its own two feet without
government intervention. Here in South Australia, we've seen at least two projects that have been that have been dropped I think, in recent times, and yet we keep getting told that by the male Ouskislav government here that we're going to be a green energy superpowder. Quite how you export enough through wind and solar is anyone's guest. But putting that little anomaly aside, I think this is where we're going
with this. The tragedy of at all, Karen is that before the penny drops that the entire grieb is going to be in a catastrophe. It is not already, and so we're actually learning this liston on the run.
And where we shouldn't be.
I mean, this is one of the many arguments for why net zero needs to be dropped immediately, and we need to get on with getting the cheapest power we can by any means.
Yeah, cheap and reliable.
That is absolutely what our country needs for its future prosperity. Thank you as always, Alexantik still it to Kam and Josh Hammer joins me to break down Donald Trump's big beautiful bill. Plus, everyone's favorite left is losing it. Now it's time for lefties losing it. And the lefties in the US are absolutely feral about a recent Supreme Court ruling in the birthright citizenship case. This explicive, ridden red sums up the compassionate left perfectly. Please excuse all the bleeping.
All I gotta say is we're so constitution we don't have a constitution anymore. Nope, I mean, what the Supreme Court trump all this States of America seventeen seventy six, fourth of July.
Goll of it.
Whatever we even fought for all of this.
And Marga, what a compelling argument. But at least that lady is just an ordinary citizen. This next video is a Democrat congresswoman who's holding a series of shadow hearings while on the Immigration Subcommittee.
Check this out.
We have been trying to shine a light on the Immigration Subcommittee. We're in the minority, obviously, so we can't do it for but I've started doing a series of shadow hearings to shine a light on all of the ways that the government is attacking immigrants and the legal immigration system. The first one was on third country deportations. The whole series is called kidnapped and disappeared.
What a shocker, But I think a lot of these could be sorted out with better education and information.
But the polar opposite of.
This, did you know that the term good morning was originated when our ancestors were being held as captives during so called slavery. Slave owners, after spending all night torturing, murdering, and kidnapping their loved ones would greet them at sunrise with did you have a good morning? That was their way of mocking us because they knew that we had just spent all night crying and mourning the loss of our loved ones.
And as time goes by and the world becomes increasingly bunkers, I really understand people who choose to homeschool their.
Kids so parents can now pull their kids from lessons that have LGBTQ components. All right, you know, as a teacher, I don't give a shit because I'll just give them an assignment that basically covers like America descending into fascism or hypocrisy, and I'll use Trump and the Republicans for that. Like I don't care, I'll go after them anyway. I'll just give them a lesson that hits even harder.
But don't worry. There's apparently a coup coming.
Our base has a lot of activity.
There have been four black Hawk helicopters, several jets, and several sea force full of equipment taking off today.
I'm hoping that today is the day.
However, it may be tomorrow, but it looks like they're moving very quickly and they're taking this seriously.
So be on the lookout.
I will update you as soon as I can. Insider said, it is time for us to an issue. Okay, so let's do this, guys, Let's do it.
For the love of Baby Jesus send the asteroid. Joining me now is Newsweek saying your editor at large and article three Senior project counts with Josh Hammer Josh Plenty of commentary in theater around the passing of Trump's big beautiful bill in the US Senate.
What's the bill about and why all the fuss?
Well, this is the one major budget bill that has set to be passed in the US Congress this year, so it's one more complicated than that. It goes back to my nineteen seventy four statute here called the Budget Control Act, which introduced this process that on Capitol Hill they referred to as reconciliation. It's kind of in the weeds parliamentary terms. What it basically means is that you
have one shot. You basically have one shot to pass a budgetary fiscal revenue related bill, not necessarily with a sixty vote veto or filibuster proof majority, but where they bear fifty one vote majority, because actually get one bite at the apple to pass a clean fifty one vote bill that happens to be the so called one big
beautiful bill. Now, the problem is that because of the arcade nature of this reconciliation procedure, there was an individual called the Senate parliamentarian who who can essentially strip certain parts of the bill to make sure that it accords with the ultimate goal, which is to reduce the budget deficits.
That's a very fans way of saying. That's been very contentious because a lot of people are trying to add provisions that are not necessarily going to pass the Senate Parliament Senate parlamentarians, excuse me his or his muster, but this is important President Trump for the following reason, and I'll be brief here, which is that this is Donald Trump's national most popularist sentiment in action. Once upon a time, the Republican Party, when it was ruled by a tea party,
more libertarian strength the government, it all costed flavor. This sort of thing would have been anathema. I mean, the party that folks like Mike Lee and Ran Paul came of agent in twenty ten around then was all about trying to kind of get back to the traditional congressional appropriations process. The notion that you would actually just get it all into what Trump calls in one big beautiful bill is actually very different, and that speaks about the
national's populist maga dominance of today's Republican Party. So the fact that that it looks like that there are going to be fifty one Republican Senators at least on board to get this thing through, my big takeaway, Caroline, is that this is Donald Trump's Republican Party, period, full stop, end of story.
It would be very interesting to say, that's for sure.
And speaking of us, the Democrat primary for the New York mayoral candidsy last week, well that had us all enthralled. And look, I understand there's some concern around Mandami's budgetary views and whether that will take New.
York back to the bad old days.
The front page of the New York Post was in blazon with the headline the price is White.
That is quite the headline.
What's the concern, Well, the concern is that he's literally talking about punitive taxation on white people, on white people, or essentially anyone on the intersectional identity politics scale of aggrieved interests or victimhoods who do not necessarily meet hishire. I mean, Caroline, this guy is a full fledged democratic socialist at best. Would I would call him a communist frankly, I mean, I mean, I mean, this is someone who says literally every crazy far left left wing platitude imaginable.
I mean, if Black Lives Matter has said it, if defund the Police, defund Ice has said it there, if the Hamas crazies post October seven has said it. If they've said it, then this guy believes it. He believes in anything and everything that the furthest left members of the United States Democratic Party believe there. This is someone who was who was who was condemning Israel within minutes of the October seventh Pagram that that slaughter more Jews any than any days in Zadolf Tayler and the Nazis.
I mean, this is someone who who literally everything that comes out of his mouth is basically right for a Republican National Committee opposition and research out because you can't, you just can't make this stuff up. I mean, it's almost too good to be true. The think is why a lot of National Republicans are actually wetting their chops in preparation for trying to run against Mam Donnie and trying to project him as the Baseball Democrats come Fall
twenty twenty six. The obvious problem is that you live in New York City, you have to suffer under this guy who's likely to become the next mayor. Unless Eric Adams the incoming can pull off a major upset. He's now running as an independent, probably not going to happen. His approval ratings are very very low at the moment. I certainly hope that it does happen there, but I will I guess I would just say this. There's this old quote from a brilliant twentieth century American newspaper columnists
and social critic named hl Mankin. Hl Mankin famously said that democracy is the theory that the common man knows what he wants and he deserves to get it good and hard. So part of me, Caroline looks at the plights of New York City under a prospective mayor, Zora Mamdanni, and says, you know what, if this is what the people want, then they're about to get it very good and very hard.
Yeah, And that's exactly right. You get what you vote for.
Couldn't agree more and look at it, and as if then that's not even the end of it. It really has been a very event for waking the US with the US Supreme Court handing down ruling.
On birthright citizenship.
Can you explain this decision to us and what does that mean for the future of the US immigration policy.
Sure, so, this case was litigated as the so called birthright Sitienshove case, but the actual ruling on Friday Caroline did not address the Fourteenth Amendment birthright stationship question. And I know that's going to sounds a little peculiar and odd there, but it's because of the way that this
was litigated. So the Trump Department of Justice and these Slster General John Sower tried to make an appeal to the Supreme Court, not necessarily on the underlying substance of question as to whether the Fourteenth Amendment requires that the
children of legal aliens be granted US sitizenship. Rather, he was trying to make an appeal to the Justice that the scope of lower court relief should not include the so called and nationwide injunctions that have hamstrung the Trump presidency ever since January there So that was actually all that the Justice ruled on. Now, having said that, with that large caveat. I'm pleased to report that it was
a fantastic ruling. It was a fantastic six fee ruling written by Justice Amy Coney, one of the more moderate Republican nominated justice on the Court of Justice, who I
was certainly having critical of at times myself. But I was just deeply pleased reading this because Ammy Cone Barra was really bringing the fire there, and she was adamant and insistent that the judicial power of which the United States Constitutions speaks simply cannot countenance these sort of nation wane injunctions by which a rogue lower court district court judge out in Hawaii or Florida or Maine or New Hampshire, whatever, can just bring the entirety of the nation to a
halt there. This is completely anathematic to the American constitutional design. Really, the craziest part of this was the fact that it has to be litigated this far at all, and that you had the three liberal justices who nonetheless found themselves in the descent. Katanji Brown Jackson in particular, who was the lead dissenter, was absolutely torn to shreds by Amy
Cone Barrett. It was really beautiful victory. I would say for the United States Constitution in our elaborate constitutional structure.
Yeah, very interesting.
And look, we have a not dissimilar structure here in Australia. But obviously some of those technical diffaut technical differences really do make a substantive difference. Now, some pretty extraordinary scenes in the Middle East this week or in recent weeks, I should say, It's been going on for some time, and obviously the US administration working closely with the Israelis on those Iran strikes. But following that, Trump has slammed Israeli prosecutors of Vernettyaho's corruption trial.
Now, what's this all about?
And are there any potential impacts?
So I was really happy to see Donald Trump do this because I've been saying for years, Caroline, and that the plate of Donald Trump here in the United States when it comes to what I've referred to as the Democrat lawfare complex, Jack Smith and all the various moving parts there, Fannie Wills, Alvin Bragg, all the various Democrat prosecutors that are trying to throw him in jail on
invariably bogus and ridiculous charges. It's actually shockingly similar to being Netta, who have been feazing over in Israel for at least four or five years now. I mean, a lot of these prosecutions go back even further there than they have for Donald Trump here in the United States. And you know, I don't live in Israel, not an expert on each and every case there, but broadly speaking there based on what I reviewed, and this is just
extraordinarily silly stuff. I mean, the ntsan Yah who's accept cigars from a donor and that therefore he's the most corrupt person in the world. There, it's patently silly, and it's it's made even more silly by the fact that during the Twelve Day War, the war against Iran that was just extraordinarily successful for both Israel and the United States. There they were literally trying to drag Ntiniaku to depose
him during the midst of this conflict. The day after the war ended, if not mistake, and the judge in Tel Aviv put outing Rich to say, Okay, mister Prime Minister, now come back to our court there. It's just totally ridiculous, and it speaks of a far left deep state rot not just the United States, not just in Israel. Frankly, a lot of first Rold democracies face a very similar problem here, where you have a judiciary and a deep
state prosecutorial apparatus working hand in love. There So for all those reasons, I was very happy to see Donald Trump speak out in favor of his friend and ally Beeping Natanyahu, because they're actually in a shockingly similar predicaments. The good news is very happy ending for now to
the story is that the Court. The Court actually immediately moved after Donald Trump posted his second of his two true social posts to try to expedite some sort of rapid swift conclusion to at least one of the corruption trials. So already Trump is getting results.
Very interesting observation there.
Now, another thing about the US involvement in this conflict in the Middle Ace is the apparently this split amongst conservatives about the extent and for how long.
The US is involved.
So there was a pace in the Australia media this week titled Trump's base backs his war as long as he keeps the pace?
Does this sum up the sentiment?
So, Carol, I have to be caned that I fight. This is a very common sentiment. By the way, this is not just Australia and the American media has been reporting much the same thing over and over over and over over again. We hear about this alleged there's a rift, they say in Maga, there's a crushing divide within Maga. I'm not buying yet because the frankly does not necessarily hold it up there. So, for instance, there was a CBS News poll CBS News about his major upholster here
in the US. As a guest, there was a CBS News poll maybe about a week ago, just after the Operation mid Night hammer Strikes inside Iran showed that ninety four percent, ninety four percent of self identified mac Republicans support President Trump strikes. Literally only six percent object there. Now, it's very loud six percent, it's very vocal six percent. Tucker Carlson is probably the most prominent member of the six percent there, but it's still, ultimately, at the end
of the day, only six percent. And this kind of gets to what I referred to as the Trump doctrine of foreign policy. I think a lot of people here America first, and they immediately think that we're talking here about a hardcore isolationist mentality where America simply does not get involved in foreign affairs, but Anyone who was paying any attention to Donald Trump's first term in office knows
that's not his foreign policy there. Donald Trump is still the same guy who took out Kasaim Sulimani, the Iranian arch terrorists in twenty twenty. He took out the founder of ISIS, Abubakar al Baghdadi the year prior. He was very tough on Russia when it comes to missile defense, and on and on we go there. So Donald Trump is non isolation is. He's also not a moralistic George W.
Bush era neo conservative. He is a nationalist and a realist, but he's not afraid to strike out in overwhelming powerful fashion to defend the concrete core American national interest with the big caveat that. After that, he wants to get the heck out and not send in the nation building crusades there. That's exactly what happened in Iran. It was a smashing success, and that's why ninety four percent of Magropublicans support it.
Yeah, excellent, thank you, Thank you for that. Definitely improve my understanding on that point. Now we understand Florida is building a detention center for undocumented migrants.
It's been dubbed Alligator Alcatraz.
It appears to be working politically very well for DeSantis.
There is some blowback.
Take a look at this, or have your spiritual places.
In your horse to pray for these people who are lost.
They can become human beings.
Cosewen if they're human beings. Again, stop there's always a protest. But you know this is what this is what people in the US voted for.
What is the broader sentiment in Florida around the construction of this detention center.
Well, I do live in Florida. I live not too terribly far from the Everglades, which is where Alligator Alcatraz is going to be constructed. There. Look, this is this is a brilliant move by our amazing governor. On the sentis our amazing young Attorney General James uth Meyer, who was formerly the governor's chief of staff now he's our attorney general. There they're working hand in glove to get
this thing up and running there. They're trying to do a number of things, but the number one thing that the try and do, Caroline, is to establish Florida as the red state that is most willing able and eager to assist President Donald Trump to assist DHS Secretary Christynome to assist our so called borders are Tom Homan, in effectuating what Tom Holman has referred to as the largest mass deportation of ration in the history of the United States. There,
once upon a time, Florida was a swing state. This is the state that decided the two thousand presidential election. Once upon a time, Florida was a state actually that although people here didn't want to talk about it, there are a lot of corporations that benefited from illegal alien labor. All of that has changed under Governor Sandis. Governor Santis
is many things. He's a brilliant leader, brilliant statesman. He's also very very tough on the illegal immigration issue there and he leads by example, because the sentiment in this state has followed run the Sandis there. Again, this is stated that once upon a time was pretty split down the middle on the illegal immigration issue. But as as the Santis has just led through his rhetoric and his policies and just the way that he says an example there,
the people of Florida have followed. But again, I think the goal is really to establish Florida as the nation's leading red state. Dare I say, perhaps even more so than Texas, which once upon a time was the nation's most iconic red state. But regardless of how you split it, whether it's Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Arizona, whatever it is there,
this is very healthy red state competition. Basically red states essentially trying to out conservative each other, all trying to kind of win, you know, the ultimate, the ultimate favorable glance of President Donald Trump. It's a very healthy competition.
I think.
Perfect. Thank you so much for your insights, Josh Hammer, Thank you so much. Still to come.
Lauren Sanchez's Vogue cover turns heads, plus all the big storylines from the Jeff Bezos wedding with Kinsey Schofield next welcome back to the show and joining me now is to Die For podcast host Kinsey Schofield. Kinsey, there has been so much media coverage of the Bezos wedding over the weekend, but Katie Courage said Lauren Sanchez's Vogue cover was tacky, harsh or fair.
Oh my gosh.
Look, I when I think of high fashion, Katie Kirk as the last person that comes to mind. I think in this particular instance, she sounds bitter that she wasn't invaded. She would show up to the open of an envelope. He's actually, I'm sure you know this, but Kitty's actually admitted to attending a party held in honor of Prince Andrew, hosted by Jeffrey Epstein.
So she will literally show up anywhere.
She would sell a kidney to secure the Bezos' first married interview, but knows she's not relevant enough to score, you know, a good gat like that today.
So I think she just sounds unhappy. I don't think that was a necessary comment.
No, probably not in a necessary comment.
And I will say, Kinsey, I was so pleasantly surprised that Laurence boobs were in her dress. Now a query sometimes right, A query sometimes? How much this wedding was a wedding or a big performance? A big it's almost like a business deal. A few people have commented that the couple didn't seem to have much in the way of family there, but it's been reported that Chris Jenna pushed really hard for Chloe Kendall and Kylie to be invited.
I mean, honestly, it's a wedding. What's your thoughts?
Well, the presence of so many Kardashians guarantees this a big pop culture event. It expanded generations thanks to the younger siblings like Kendall and Kylie. The only wedding that would outdo this guest list is Taylor Swift in Travis Kelsey's wedding. But realistically, we understand that the Bezoses were secretly married in the United States weeks ago, and while there was a formal ceremony, it was just a big, expensive excuse to party.
Yeah.
I suppose sometimes a big expensive excuse to party can be very good fun. But there was some controversy over Kylie Jenni's choice of frock.
What was the issue here?
Okay, Kylie's dress was technically a pale silver, but let's be honest, under certain light it looked white.
And wearing white to someone else's wedding that's a big no no.
It's considered a major faux pas because the white dress is supposed to be reserved for the bride.
It's her moment, her spotlight.
Fun fact, we can actually thank Queen Victoria for the white wedding dress trend before her eighteen forty wedding to Prince Albert. Brides just wore like their nicest dress in their closet, often something dark or colorful, but Victoria chose white lace and satin, and it sparked a fashion revolution that's still going strong today.
Yeah, and it's definitely part of wedding etiquette, I suppose, regardless of who the wedding is.
Moving from Besos to Beyonce.
And check out this footage from her concert in Texas on Saturday.
To stuff stop stop stop stuff the far nothing, Oh my.
God, Kinsey, what happened here?
Over the weekend, Beyonce's team, Parkwood Entertainment released a statement addressing this incident, explaining that Saturday Night and huston Texas, a technical mishap caused her flying car to tilt. She was quickly lowered and no one was injured. The show continued without incident. I mean, it was whether you like Beyonce or not, it was a pretty decent display of Beyonce's professionalism because she returned to the mean stage and finished the performance without skipping a bit.
Yeah, good on her.
And I suppose the more that these sorts of music performances become almost acrobatic performances, the more that these sorts of things can potentially go wrong, but I totally agree with the top marks for her for you know, getting back on stage and continuing with the show. Now, the Beckham family rift, well that's something that's been very well documented. And we know that Brooklyn missed David's fiftieth birthday, but apparently he was celebrating his father in law's birthday.
It doesn't look like things have softened, Kinsey, I.
Know, and this does not look great because David Beckham has been in the hospital after he underwent a surgery on hit wrist. So Victoria's posting pictures of David in the hospital and Brooklyn's posting birthday wishes to his father in law after ignoring his dad, Brooklyn and Nicola act like they were raised by wolves and not one of
the most famous power couples in the world. I'm sorry, but if your dad is David Beckham and your mom is Posh Spice, maybe show a little gratitude instead of throwing Braddy shade.
The entitlement is exhausting.
The entitlement is exhausting, and I suppose kinsin you know, we've seen the kind of parallel with Harry and the Royal family, but where do you think that this family rift will end up going. Do you think it's something that's going to sort itself out.
I think I do think it's something that will sort itself out because Nichola's family is likely not going to continue to bake, to debate roll these people. I mean, Brooklyn goes on TV in the United States and makes grilled cheese sandwiches. They realistically have to find careers for themselves. I don't think nicholas family will continue to be their piggy bank, and Brooklyn's going to have to go crawling back to mommy and daddy.
Yeah.
Well, again, the parallels are stark, there, aren't they.
On to Prince Harry, speaking of he made some comments this way that in twenty eighteen, Megan was the most troll person in the world.
The digital world was so important to us because my wife in twenty eighteen was the most true person in the world.
So there was a lived experience in that.
Now, this conference was meant to focus on the mental health impacts of social media on children, a very worthy cause, absolutely no objection from me.
Couldn't he just have focused.
On the kids right?
Meanwhile, his wife is posting his children on social media, Like you know, the contradictions continue to astound, but fantasy timeline, Megan's.
Favorability rating was high.
In twenty eighteen, she had a twenty five percent net favorability rating. In the US, her favorability was even higher at thirty nine percent.
Today, a majority of.
UK adults sixty five percent, have a negative view of her. She has relentlessly spent twenty twenty five trying to improve her public image, but between podcasts Loose Fruit, Spread and a Netflix series, there's been no significant impact positively on her standing. So you know, get your dates right, get your receipts. I think we're dealing with victim fatigue here. We're so over him trying to convince us that they are living a hard life from their Montecito mansion.
And I don't think he's helping himself from the point of view that we all remember the great failure that was the World Privacy Tour, and now all of a sudden, Megan is everywhere like pick the pony that you're going to ride and get on with it.
Does this just, you know, damage the credibility more?
I do think it damages their credibility more because it completely contradicts what we have seen and what we know to be true.
But this is just what we've come to expect from them.
I think that there is such an oversaturation right now that the normal people are tuning them out and that's not going to be beneficial to Megan's as ever brand.
But she's done it to herself.
One day, she's saying she's going to hit pause so she can reevaluate the brand. Forty eight hours later, she's announcing a restock. This yo yo mentality is not a way to run a business.
No, and the whiplash definitely does not give you your investors or people wanting to support your business that much confidence that your full.
Throttle on doing that now.
Back still on the Royal Family, but over in the UK and a reception of Buckingham Palace This Way for the King's Trust and reality TV star Jamie lang Andy's wife Sophie filmed a video appearing appearing to mock Harry and Meghan's twerking video.
They then posted it on social media, Let's.
Have a look pregnant a way too lung, and it.
Received this cheeky response from the official Royal Family Instagram account. Kinsey obviously a bit cheeky filming in the palace when you're not supposed to. But I think most people would say the funny side to this, wouldn't they.
No, I thought it was so cute. I thought it was funny.
It got a lot of great press for the King's Foundation, which does incredible work.
I could just see and.
I know I'm making this up, but I love to imagine Queen Camella behind the keyboard typing the winking emogioing exactly.
I mean, they've got a social media team.
A social media team member did that, but it's so much more fun to imagine Queen Camella behind the keyboard.
Having a little giggle to herself as she posted that comment. We can only wish that is actually how it happened. Thank you so much, Kinsey Schofield. That's it from me, and up next to his newsnight, Good night,