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Are you I? Are we cool?
Now? I'm genuine I genuinely.
We don't have to talk about why you were mad. But you were mad at me.
I was not mad.
You were mad. You started the show. You wouldn't even talk to me. I was like, you good to go to.
YO that they'll maybe there are other things going on in my life? Well, oh what's about you, mister Nick?
Okay, well you know what. Guess what the forty five minutes twice a week when we do this kind of is hey, I need you. You think you don't think? There are days that I walk downstairs and I and I'm either irritated with one of your little sisters, maybe even you. Maybe your mom's gotten mad at me for something. I don't sit in the seat before the TV show, I'm all right, welcome in. It is episode twenty two of What's Right with Nick right in the podcasting and
YouTube show. Unlike episode twenty one, we are not recording this this show through a string in a cup. We are back online fully and unlike any of the previous twenty one episodes, we have a brand new microphone. So these takes should be crystal clear, even more so than always. So all that's good. Also reminder, check out the weekly
series fifty Garys players the last fifty years. The one that comes out this coming Sunday will be the most controversial, but I feel better about it than even when I recorded it a few days ago. One serious note, we are recording this one day after the massacre in Texas. I am going to use the final segment of today's show to talk about that. Some of what I say will come across as political, and some of what I say will simply be a parntal plea for some level
of sanity. If you are coming to this show as an escape, or if you fear you're like I really like Nick, but if I hear what I think he's going to say about guns in this country, I'm gonna hate him. If I find out his political opinion than me, I won't be able to listen to him anymore. Then just into the podcast or the YouTube show however you're consuming it. After our second segment, the third segment, though, we will be discussing that it's where my head is
right now, it's where my heart is right now. However, we are here to provide an escape for many of you and to talk about the sports news of the day. So that is what we will do for the first two segments of today's show. As always, we start the show by telling you what we're not talking about. Here's what did not make today's show in any way, shape or form. Eastern Conference Finals Game five, because, as it happens, that game has not yet happened, even though you are
consuming this after has happened. Brady hitting some ducks to Gronk. Gronk shagging balls for Brady the left handed swing did, wasn't that impressive with it? And the rural Virginia Commanders as the former Washington football team now the Washington Commanders might be moving outside of Washington, DC entirely, none of that is on the show. Demonse will tell us what is on the show. I hope I know what we're starting with, but I don't know what we're starting with.
What are we starting with, Demanse.
How could we not? The MAVs avoided the broom Tuesday night?
Oh they sure did, didn't they?
Yep? Definitely helped that they finally started hitting the threes. Yeah, but no team has ever come back from a three tozero deficit in the NBA history. So if you think that Luca can be the guy to do it. I think it's probably time to make another bet.
Oh well, I'm not the first of there's a number of things here. First of all, I've made plenty I already have plenty of actual bets involving the Mavericks making the finals and winning the finals. I'm what we would call pop committed to that. I don't there's unless you are going to give me outrageous odds. And by the way, I don't even want to make this bet with you because you're rooting for the Mavericks. I know you want to root against me, but in this series, I've watched
the games with you. You're rooting for the Mavericks. You don't like Draymond, you don't like the Warriors. So no bet, there is no bet. That's first of all. Second of all, I'm so sick of hearing people talk about three to zero. It's not three to zero anymore. It's three to one. And thirteen teams have come back from down three to one, and the Warriors have blown a three to one league. And here's the other thing. All the analysis of Game four has been exactly what you said. Oh, the MAVs
finally hit their threes. Yes, that happened. But the other thing that happened is they held the Warriors to seventy points through three quarters. So the defense was outstanding as well. Now do they have a major uphill battle? What go ahead?
Kind of reminds me of that game? Kind of reminded me of another game. What game earlier in the playoffs? What game was it? Game five of Grizzlies Warriors. I knew you were going to say that when they came and scored fifty points. I think they had fifty two minutes into the third quarter of that game. It was very clear.
The Grizzlies led by fifty in that game.
It was just very clear that they did not give a damn about winning that game.
Okay, that might be true, however, I think that is And by the way, good job by you. That is the exact point Chris Brussard made on the TV show this morning. So is your evolution into professional takesman. You're now thinking the same way of the actual professional takesman. So good job by you. However that is I'm going to say to you what I said to him. That's a terrible example for the Warriors case, which is this
the next game the Warriors didn't play great. If you remember Game six of that series, the Warriors are trailing with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, and then the Grizzlies self destructive. The Warriors ended up winning by fourteen points in that game because the final half of the fourth quarter the Warriors fell apart. But I agree with you. It did remind me a bit of that game.
But it's like the Warriors came out the very next night and totally took care of business on their home court the way one were to say the Mavericks on the Grizzlies. Lucas the best player in the series. That was the Grizzlies without John Morant. And here's what I'm saying. The Mavericks could have rolled over. The Mavericks could have said, one hundred and forty sixteens fen down three to zero, they're zero in one hundred and forty six, it's not
gonna happen, blah blah blah blah blah. But that is not what they did. Instead, what they did was they took the game seriously and now they're in a position where they go back to Golden State where they've got to believe they can win in Golden State demanse. I know they lost Game one. In Game two, but they were up nineteen in Game two. They were up fourteen at the half, and then they fell apart. And here's
what I will unequivocally say. If the MAVs win Game five and then the series goes back to Dallas for Game six, the amount of pressure on Steph and the Warriors will be unimaginable. So no, I'm not ready to make another bet. The series should be to two games apiece. The Mavericks should have won Game two, I mean, but they didn't. So they dug themselves a seemingly undiggable outable that's not the phraseology. I apologize, hole a too big of a hole. But they have the best player there is,
the massive three point shooting variants. All of a sudden, Kevon Looney wasn't you know, in the best center in the Western Conference for finally a night. Kevon Looney and Andrew Wiggins were a modern name. Mark eaton Karl Malone for the first three games of this series. Mark eaton, Yes, Mark Eaton, one of your favorites. So I'm not I'm not going to make another bet for the MAVs to really be in good shape it. Obviously you need to be too, too. But I'm so sick of people talking
about three to zero. Three to zero is gone. It's in the past. If I were to ask you guess the number between one and one thousand, you would have a one in one thousand chance. But if I then told you the first digit of the number, you would have a one in one hundred chance. That's what this one was. It went from one in one thousand to one in one hundred. Told you the second digit, you would then have a one in ten chance. That's what Game five would be. And then if I told you
the third digit, you'd have it. You'd have the number. That's what Game six would be. They win Game five, they're gonna get to win Game six, and then Game seven Warriors will fall apart. Mark it down Game five. Here's the official prediction. Game five is either the Warriors by twenty or the Mavericks win the series.
I'm rooting for you.
Thank you. I appreciate that. That's why we're not betting on it. All right, what we have an extended twelve minute clock. We spent five minutes on that first topic, so we gotta go faster.
What's next we're recording before Game five is Celtics and Heat. I'm feeling great about it. Man. Yeah, Celtics bully the Heat on Monday. There hasn't been one game where both teams played pretty well, but this one kind of felt like a turning point. So are you sticking to Heat and seven or you finally ready to admit that Celtics are the better team.
I don't think the Celtics are the better team. I am sticking with Heat and seven. However, the only chance the Heat have is if Jimmy Butler is close to one hundred percent and we the audience will know, So I don't want to spend ton of time on it here. The audience will know by the time they hear this, how Jimmy Butler looks like. Listen, Jimmy Butler played just one half of Game three, played Game four, but was nothing like himself. Didn't get to the free throw line,
had six or eight points. The Heat struggled too much to score to be able to survive Jimmy Butler at this level, and by the way, Tyler Hero didn't play Game four. I do think it's noteworthy that there has been one half this entire series. The Heat were at full strength the first half of Game three. Kyle Lowry was back, Hero played, Jimmy Butler played that half, and the Heat won that half by fifteen points. I think that's noteworthy. Now, I want to give you credit for something.
You have been big on time Lord on Robert Williams.
And he is a factor.
Well, it is not lost on me that the only game this series that Bam has looked like an All NBA center was the one game Robert Williams miss. With that said, I wouldn't be shocked if Robert Williams misses Game five or miss his Game six. He's been in out of lineup the entire postseason, so injuries are obviously a huge factor here. I'm not gonna use injuries as an excuse with the caveat of if the best player on a team gets hurt, that kind of removes the
pick I picked Grizzlies over at Warriors. Nobody threw that in my face because John missed the final three games of a series. If Giannis had gone down, not Middleton, nobody'd be like Nick, you picked Giannis to make the finals. If the best player on a team goes down. Now, Jimmy Butler is gonna play Game five. I'm sure what's he gonna look like. You guys already will know this. We're recording a few hours for the game, so we'll discuss this more next week, when hopefully we've gotten to
a seventh game in this series. We'll find out, all right, what's next?
Rob Pickens the scene with the next GMS, Rob Polinka, Rob Pelinka.
Dickens, go ahead, You're fine, don't worry about it.
Rob Polinka was seen with GM with next GM Sean Marks at the combine. Yep. Maybe they were discussing your old Russ Kyrie trade.
Yep.
And the Lakers' coaching situation was so bad by the last show we couldn't even really discuss it. Yeah, seems like Legm has his hands full. Uh huh, But what would you like to see first? The Russ move or the Doc move?
Okay, you know how I wouldn't talk about the Lakers on the last show. I'm not telling the Lakers on this show either. You guys keep putting the Lakers in the show. I am not interested in talking about the Lakers in their present form. Mad They're still the idea that Doc Rivers is even on the list. Doc Rivers has a job, and why do you want Doc Rivers? And then Phil Jackson advising him to keep Russ. I
don't like any of it. I don't like that Lebron James just made his record eighteenth All NBA team and he's playing for this franchise that is just a total mess. So I'm not you call them GM. You put it in the rundown because people expect me to talk Lakers. I am not interested in talking Lakers. Next topic. Okay, well stop putting it in the show.
Well, you won't enjoy this any much more. But odds or the Warriors will win this series by the time you record our next show. If Steph win's another title with al Katie or a real number two player, it's a really big deal. The Warriors will be an all time dynasty. Steph probably moves up in your top fifty list. How much of this? How much is on the line in terms of NBA history? If the Warriors win.
Oh well, listen, everything you said there is true. If they win, it to me moves Steph to a clear number two player of his generation. It moves him past Durant and at least for the time being past you honest, because.
So he's not past Durant right now? Is what's your name?
I Going into the year, I would have said no. Going into the year, I would have said because Steph two years since Durant left, missed the playoffs, missed the playoffs, looked like he wasn't gonna make another NBA finals. Durant. You know, Steph had more regular season MVPs, Durant had the finals MVPs. When they played together, it looked like
Durant was the better player. But if Steph wins a title before Durant got there and after Durant leaves, the fact that Steph, if they make the finals this year, will have during this run since Steve Kerr took over, have never lost before the finals. Since Steve has gotten there, they've lost two series. One they lost to the greatest player ever due to the greatest three game stretch of
basketball ever, Lebron James. He went forty one sixteen and seven, and then forty one nine to eleven, and then he had the triple double in game seven, twenty nine to eleven and ten. I think to win twenty seven eleven ten to win the title. I don't hold that against Steph. You're up against the greatest player ever, has the greatest three game stretch ever. And the other title you lose was when Durant popped his achilles and Clay blew out his knee. If they win the title this year, it's
an unbelievable stretch. Now there's the two years in the middle of it, when they don't make the playoffs during those two years. It's spelt to me like, Okay, you know Durant those two years missed one year because he was out.
With the achilles, basically missed this year.
Well and this year. But last year was unbelievable in that series against Giannis and the Bucks. You couldn't put that on Durant. But Steph, given that what happened with Durant this year, swept in round one. If Steph with a great supporting cast, but as you mentioned, not a great number two. Jordan Pool's a one way player.
Clays A Shelby and Wiggins at this point that's his number two. It seems like maybe, well.
Andrew Wiggins is the second best in this series, has been the second best all around guy because Draymond's all defense, Pool is all offense. Clay is not the same and so yes, like Steph Curry, it was prior to this year the point my point to be this. Prior to this year, it was a real debate greater all time Steph or kd if before this year it was a debate. And if at the end of this year, Katie's swept in around one and Steph wins the title, that's got
to sway it. Four rings, six finals appearances quickly, Guys with the league MVP who have been to six finals, it is Coozy, Russell, Kareem Magic, Michael Shaq, Kobe lebron I, might a Duncan. That's the full list. If Steph adds himself with that list, yeah, is he top ten all time? Probably not, but banging on the door his second best player of his generation. If they finished this off, he might be second best player of his generation for the
time being. If they just make the finals, we'll be right back.
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Maybe I was irritated because my alarm didn't wake me up on time? No, no, no, did you have any idea that if you set a timer on the clock app and you don't like reset it and you leave it open, your alarm does not go off? And if you think that I'm lying, test the theory tomorrow with your job.
Okay, you always just jump to And if you think I'm lying, I don't think.
Because I used to lie a lot once upon a.
Time, I understand that I don't think you're lying. I think that you are. You have now gotten to the level where you are blaming Menlo Park, California and the late Steve Jobs. The fact that you have for the I don't know the last decade of your life overslept like.
Maybe like maybe, no? What BS is when my alarm what I am a thousand and zero when my alarm.
Goes I'm a thousand.
No, I am quick like when my alarm goes off. I don't oversleep. That's that's just the fact.
Okay, Well, then I if I were you, didn't I buy you a plug in the wall.
Yeah, because I was using an iPhone eight, which is that alarm wasn't very her life.
Why don't you use that as a backup if you're undefeated when an alarm goes off. If I were you, I would make sure the alarm always goes off.
I've got a point to prove. I got you. I will set it up. I will set it.
Okay, hey new running tally and now demand has done it. This is show twenty two. How many shows do we get to before the damn dastardly iPhone screws him again and he's a little late for the show prep meeting. Let's see, let's just see. I'm gonna say we don't get to show thirty one. Okay, I hope you proved me wrong. Are you ready to go? Let's have like seven away, that'd be nine away. Nobody said you're twenty two to thirty one. No, listen, it might be a
thousand and zero at waking up? Can he count to a thousand? I'm sure? All right, let's go. When are we starting?
All NBA teams were announced. Joka's got first team and then b got ann out second. So yeah, you got your wishes kind.
Of yeah, exactly, that was important to me.
Lebron made thirdeam. I'm sure you have major issues with this, and you know, considering how bitter you are, you don't even have a vote. Huh, So what would you fix about it? What would you make it right about this year's NBA All NBA Team?
All right, so a little nick makes it right with the All NBA team since I don't have a vote, but I'm about to have a vote, and I'll tell you why in just a moment. So I do like that they kept to just one center. Fifty three of the one hundred voters. By the way I crunch the numbers on this, voted Jokic and Embiid both first team. But despite that, in biding up being second team, I would have had Himbiid first team in Jokic second team. But it's fine.
I think that was a secret honest of course.
But overall, the first team. They did a really good job. Luca makes first team, which, by the way, Lucas played four years. He has three first Team All nbas Wild demontse That is as many as Kyrie, Dame and Russ combined combined. Kyrie's never been first Team All NBA, Dame's only been at once, Russ has been at twice. That is one less first Team All NBA. What a stat Yeah, it's one less First Team All NBA than Chris Paul has in his career than Steph Curry has in his career.
It is the same number of first Team All NBA's Kawhi Leonard has and Lucas twenty three years old. So great job, Luke. A great job by them in that regard. The I think in general, the voters did a good job. I would have had Lebron's second team and Demarta Rosen third team, but that's listen, the team missed the playoffs. I didn't like. Nine of the All NBA voters left Lebron off their ballot entirely. That says Patty. I understand the team was bad. He averaged thirty points, eight rebound,
six assists. Nobody in league history that as those numbers has not been at least second team. To leave him off your ballot seems silly, But that's not the issue. Here's the reason why I say I might get a vote. You know who got one vote for an All NBA team? Who's a star that has no business being on the All NBA team this year? And who would make me the angriest that they got a vote? You have a guess someone we've talked about a lot on this show.
It's right, No, James hard Draymond nom no.
Worse than any of that. Kyrie Irving.
Oh damn it.
Someone voted Kyrie Irving All NBA this year. Now the the votes are public. We don't yet have the list yet, but we will. Someone make an argument that that person shouldn't lose their vote. No, I'm dead, I'm deadly serious. Why should they not lose their vote? Of Yeah, he played twenty nine Yeah, he played twenty nine games. He's the biggest reason Harden wanted out. He was he was,
he was the opposite of good for his team. Yeah, there's a and even if he was, even if he had just missed twenty nine games, because he's Dame Lillard. I'm sorry, miss twenty nine games played twenty nine games, Dame played twenty nine games, nobody's voting for him, and Dame e Lee's team got like, so I'm serious that person should lose their vote. And I assume I am the next person on the NBA's list that's gonna get
a vote, so that you come to me. So that's my big In general, I actually think the all NBA voters did a really nice job. I might have, you know, made the argument Jimmy Butler should have gotten the final because he was eligible at guard or forward, that he should have gotten the final guard spot over Trey Young but in or the final forward spot over Pascal Siakam. But in general, I think the all NBA voters did a really nice job with it. But Kyle, the one
person vote for Kyrie Irving, to me, that's indefensible. The guy missed fifty three games. It was the biggest reason the next season imploded. It's just outrageous. All right, what are we doing now?
What game are we that is? That's pretty bad?
Okay, let's play, sir.
What's the bigger red flag? Rogers not at the OTAs or Kyler not at the OTAs.
Oh, Kyler for sure. Rogers been in the league damn near twenty years.
Yeah, I figured he's got some time of senior Yeah.
Are fifteen plus years. I understand he doesn't have Davante, but he knows the receiver, he knows the offense Kyler. To me, that's about the contract. I personally would be very hesitant to give Kyler this contract. He wants Kyler not being at the OTAs would concern me if I were the Cardinals. All Right, what's next?
Okay, who's the worst? Liar? Tyreek saying Tula has got a crazy arm or Belichick will pick the offensive coordinator when we get to it.
Oh, Tyreek, listen Belichick, I Belichick, I seem I believe. Actually, I don't think he thinks the titles are super important. He never really has. I also don't think he has great options. He's had Josh McDaniels there for so many years in a row. I think this is kind of putting him in a rough spot. He's gonna let Matt Patrician Joe Judge battle it out, or maybe one of his sons battle it out. Tyreek, though having to lie about going from Mahomes to Tua, it listens.
Its like picture of Mahomes.
Yeah, it's just right. Yeah, Tyreek got the money, he got the location. I'm sure Tyreek will have decent numbers because they'll do a lot of like screenpack and short passes. But Tua is not good. Tua does not have a good arm. And it's going from Patrick Mahomes tou. If you just if you were going from Matt Ryan to to it'd be like, ooh, this rough. But he made this choice. But of course he's got to lie about it,
so I mean it is Tyreek is lying. Tyreek also at the end of one of these quotes said no homo, which like, bro, like, I'm not gonna make it the biggest deal.
In the world.
But you're a grown man and it's twenty twenty two and you're at a press conference. Yeah, I mean, it's not like he was caught on you know what I mean saying it to a friend, which, again, you're a grown man. But to have the lack of awareness that at a press conference Mike's in your face to drop a quote no homo onot, it's like, come on.
Man, that's high school culture right there.
Absolutely, it's like embarrassing high school culture, like you got to be better than that, all right, what's next?
Predict a trade partner for one? DeAndre Ayton or Russell Westbrook.
These are both hard. I'm just gonna be totally honest. They're both eight and will have plenty of suitors out there. It's hard for him because it's hard to narrow it down to one, because I think a lot of teams would like eight and if they could get it. Young was the number one pick of a draft showed you last year, not this year, but last year in the playoffs.
He could be something of a force now unless you have Other people have said this in their right that unless you have Embiid or Jokic, does it make sense to pay a center thirty plus million dollars when you can get a Kavan Looney making almost nothing to give you sixty percent of the production?
You know?
What I mean is that I'm not certain, but there'll be teams that want him. Russ is in a different situation. My gut tells me if I have to pick one trade partner, I think it's the Knicks. The Knicks have some contracts they want to get off of, like Evan forty A and Alec Burks. I don't think they're gonna get any super They're not. They're not gonna be able to trade for Donovan this summer. They're gonna want to
put asses in the seats and keep their cap. That would help them clean up their cap for future years because Russ's contract is expiring. But now, would it be a one team trade or a three team trade? I don't know. Some people had postulated the Hornets, but Brusard has said, and I trust him when he's reporting on this, the Hornets are not actually interested. I do believe Russ is going to be traded, and I would if I had to pick one team, I would pick the Knicks.
But it's gonna be hard work. Luckily, the Lakers have one of the worst gams in basketball, Rob Blinko. In the case, you guys tricked me and talking about the Lakers, like I wasn't gonna talk about the Lakers and you tricked me into doing it.
I mean, you've actually talked about the Lakers a couple of times.
Okay, okay, okay, First of all, up the what it was? Okay, all right, what's let's okay, go ahead, what's next?
What's the better fight? Canelo Triple G three or Barkley versus Warrior fans.
It's definitely Barkley versus the Warrior fans, and Charles Barkley is a great example and other people should learn from it, which is this, I know everyone is all terrified of cancel culture these days, and oh, you're not allowed to say anything anymore. Charles Barkley's stance of I'm going to act the way I've always acted and never acknowledged the criticism is the best stance possible. If you don't say anything that's actually truly awful, but it's just uncouth or
slightly non pc for the moment. What you don't like that? I said, I'm sorry, Hey, Nicki Minaj said in a song and then spelled it. She said, Oh, you probably can't even spell it.
Co U t H.
I knew exactly how to spell it. Oh, okay, I know how.
I don't think it's you just don't think it's a word people use.
That was the first time I've heard it, which is okay.
Oh, but you knew how to spell it. It is like you knew what thirty one minus twenty two was. But regardless, Oh okay, thought were on episode. Point is this, that was quick math, good job by you. Point is this, Barkley turned around to Warriors fans and said, keep messing with me. I'm gonna bleep your I'm gonna go to your house and bleep your mama. And nobody was like, oh my, My'm dying. That's laughing because it's Chuck. And there's a thread right now which is the best thread
on Twitter of a thousand great Barkley moments. Everyone just loves him. The lesson, as always is if you don't really do anything wrong, apologizing doesn't help. And the other lesson is you can be the allowed. How offensive you are allowed to be is direct correlated with how funny you are. A slightly offensive joke that is not funny at all, we'll get you in so much more trouble then a very offensive joke that is wildly hilarious. Right,
and Barkley has walked that line better than just about anybody. Okay, that is not the end of the show, but that is the end of the sports part of today's show. So if you don't want my thoughts on the tragedy in Texas, I would ask you to join us again on Sunday for the latest in the NBA of fifty
best players last fifty years and join us again. That's coming Tuesday for episode twenty three, which is one more than twenty two demandsay of this show if you would like my thoughts on what just happened in Texas, that is next. All right, welcome back in What's Right with
Nick Wright podcasting YouTube show. We are as recording this right around twenty four hours removed from nineteen second, third and fourth graders being murdered while at school outside of Texas and Demons was sitting with me in the kitchen when the news came across my Twitter feed and I I don't think he's ever heard me. I audibly gasped and started to cry. And I'm not a big crier. You've probably seen me cry. I don't know four times in the time, you know, in your life. Four yeah,
four might be high. And one of them was when I was trying to cold turkey quit cigarettes and nicotine patches, and I did it at dinner. I just started crying one day because I just I don't know what was going on with my body. Was like, no, you need these nickeotine patches. I'm not a big crier, but it's just the never ending, just cavalcade of horror that we've been living through. Plus the fact that my youngest daughter
is the age of these kids. And so there's something I want to say about the big picture gun discussion in this country, and then I want to talk about what actually happened in Texas. The big picture gun discussion is it's just so wildly disingenuous and dishonest that it is for me impossible to talk about nearly impossible, because
it all comes downright. People say it's Second Amendment, and it's essentially people argue it is an inherently American right to be able to arm yourself against a tyrannical government. And if people who are the most ardent Second Amendment supporters actually believed that, then I would say, you know what, I don't look at things that way, but I respect your opinion. If they truly believed the government cannot be trusted and because of that we must be able to
arm ourselves. That is what America was built on, fighting an oppressive government, from you know, England to now all of it. I will listen to that, but that never holds up under scrutiny because we all know that even as armed as we are as Americans, if the federal government, if a president ordered the United States military to attack the most heavily armed American city, it would wipe it
out in twenty four hours. The federal government has stealth bombers and nuclear weapons and tanks and weaponry, which I don't care how armed you are, your small munitions are not going to hold up. So that part it falls apart initially, but then one could argue, Okay, so we're not going to be able to take on the US military, but we should be able to protect ourselves against over zealous agents of the state. Well, the most direct first
line of defense for the state is police officers. They are agents of the state that are literally deputized by the state or city, that carry weapons and are allowed to use them in a way most Americans are not. And the reason that I find it so difficult to have discussions with the vast majority of Second Amendment fetishists is because they almost always not always, but the vast majority I have come in contact with are the same exact people who whenever there is a police shooting, side
with the police. They they are not worried about a tyrannical government, because what could be more tyrannical than an agent of the government killing a person in the street with no judge, no jury, no trial. And the same people that argue we must be able to carry weapons of war because the government might come after us are the same people that say should have complied, should shouldn't
have run? Was he armed? All of it? And so in my in my opinion, if you want, if I will listen to someone who is an ardent Second Amendment defender, but not if they all so are a thin blue line, blue lives matter, anti police brutality, protest person, and they're almost the Venn diagram of that is damn near one circle.
That is, the the armed agents of the state in my lifetime that you have theoretically wanted to be to have some level of defense against are certain elements within the police force, and that the people who want us armed never in my experience, side with the civilian in that case. So I just don't think there's a logical consistency. That's the big picture element of it. That's the macro.
The micro is I I think is important. And this is again this is again like gruesome to a degree, but I think it's worth discussing, which is I think people need to think about and process what actually happened after those nineteen children were murdered. They're little kids, so they don't have ID and many of them, I mean, they were shot with weapons of war and many of them reportedly were shot multiple times or shot in the face.
So what you have is and this is similar with what happened in Sandy Hook, because in my in the last ten years, we have had two we have a countless school shootings, but two massacres of babies, of little little kids. The way to identify the victims is a process of elimination of well who made it out, pair them up with the parents, and then, as what happened in Sandy Hook, the parents who are left your kids died, But then you have to match those parents up with
the dead kid. So yesterday they did DNA samples for the parents and some of the parents had to go identify those their babies bodies. And we choose to live in this it is active choices that we as a unique nation of mate where for the first time in modern world history, or at least in this contractions, they world history, but the first time ever in American history. As of last year, the number one cause of death among children was firearms, not car accidents. It's unfathomable. Now.
Part of that's because car accidents have gotten the cars have gotten safer. That's good. And of course part of that is suicide. Those are firearm deaths, but those are tragic and of itself in a totally different way. And one does wonder if firearms weren't so readily available, would some of the kids not have made that decision, Would they have gone another route? Would they have attempted suicide in a different way that maybe they fail and then
get on track. But we we're the only place in the world this happens, and we all know it.
And.
There is not the political will to stop it, and so we just it's not unimaginable, it's not unbelievable, and it is terrifying. And I use that word on purpose because I I've said this for but I live in New York City, theoretically the number one target in this country for geopolitical terrorism. It was obviously the main target at nine to eleven. It has been targeted before. You know, I used to live in Kansas City, the odds of being the victim of a foreign terror attack in Kanasity
not nearly the same as in New York City. But I've never once spent one day had one moment in New York where I was like, ah, I'm afraid of being a victim of a foreign terrorist attack. Now maybe that's because we're winning the war on terror, who knows. But we've spent a lot of time and money and treasure and human lives fighting it. We've made it a very high priority. Meanwhile, we are just giving up the
fight on domestic terror. And I don't mean domestic terror in the form of what happened in Buffalo ten days ago, which was domestic terrorism because there was like a political motive. I just mean legit that I am over the last ten years of my life I have I'm no longer able to walk into a movie theater without having a moment of where's the exit, because that's a place that
I know. Get shut up now. After Buffalo add grocery stores to the list, we're reminded regularly that our little kids, their schools are on the list, and it's we shouldn't be numb to the fact that it's nineteen nineteen dead babies. But it's also every single child in that school is traumatized forever in ways that will have a lasting impact on every single moment of the rest of their life, and that community is changed forever. But all of our
kids are victimized here. All of our kids live under this specter of this so much so that they practice for it. And there are so many it grisly tweets.
And.
I Lady Aaron Alberti tweeted, I told my third grader about the shooting. She replied, third grader, same age, Diana. Yeah, we had a lockdown drill today. There aren't very many hiding places in our room. The good ones all get taken in like three seconds. And then Lillia writes her daughter walked out. I told Diora, our older daughter, about what happened yesterday. She didn't seem to blink. She hadn't heard about it. I told her. She was not surprised.
And this is the country we've built for our children, and I, uh, it feels unsustainable. It feels at times like we are ripping ourselves apart at the seams. We see that we're doing it, and we just keep walking towards more disaster, and it took two mentally unstable, hateful, eighteen year old kids themselves two. I don't know ruin two communities change the lives of forty families or thirty families directly and indirectly change the live of five hundred more.
The ease with which it can be done, and the power that we just can just seede to anybody. It's just not a it's not a sustainable model for a thriving society. And I don't know where we go from here. I don't have the answer. I have some ideas, but they're all quite radical, and I'm not going to get
into them here. I do know that we really owe our kids not only an apology, but a level of amazement, because I am telling you right now, if any workplace in America got shot up with the regularity schools did, us adults would be demanding change and a lot of us wouldn't go anymore. And our brave children march themselves
into school every day knowing this happens. Says it's part of doing business, part of growing up in America, and hopefully if it comes to my school, I'm one of the kids that finds one of the good hiding spots and it's revolting. I'll talk to you guys next week.